The external affairs ministry on Thursday said that this year’s Republic Day parade would not have any foreign head of State or government as chief guest owing to the pandemic.
The announcement came nine days after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was to be the chief guest at the parade, cancelled his visit to India because of the countrywide lockdown in the UK.
This is the first time since 1966 that there will be no foreign dignitary as chief guest at the parade.
A contingent of 122 soldiers of the Bangladesh Armed Forces will participate in the parade on January 26 to mark 50 years of the Liberation War that saw the birth of an independent country. This is only the third time in the history of the parade that a foreign military contingent has been invited to participate.
A majority of the soldiers in the tri-services contingent come from the most distinguished units of the Bangladesh Army.
