New Delhi: New Delhi: India will celebrate its 75th Republic Day on January 26. The celebrations for the day will include the annual parade at Rajpath, now called Kartavya Path, in New Delhi. The 2024 Republic Day theme is ‘’India – Mother of Democracy’’ and ‘’Viksit Bharat’’ (Developed India).
Republic Day is celebrated to mark the day when the Indian constitution officially came into effect. India became a democratic republic on January 26, 1950 and Republic Day is celebrated to commemorate this.
The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. But it came into effect on January 26, 1950. January 26 was also selected as the day to mark Republic Day because it had been on this day that the Indian National Congress (INC) proclaimed the Declaration of Indian Independence in 1929.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has been invited to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations. This is for the 6th time that a French leader is becoming the chief guest at the celebrations.
‘At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations,’ the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Here’s a list of Republic Day chief guests over the years:
1950 President Sukarno France
1951 King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Nepal
1952 – –
1953 – –
1954 King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Bhutan
1955 Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad Pakistan
1956 Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler United Kingdom
Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka Japan
1957 Minister of Defence Georgy Zhukov Soviet Union
1958 Marshall Ye Jianying China
1959 Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip United Kingdom
1960 President Kliment Voroshilov USSR
1961 Queen Elizabeth II United Kingdom
1962 Prime Minister Viggo Kampmann Denmark
1963 King Norodom Sihanouk Cambodia
1964 Chief of Defence Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten United Kingdom
1965 Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hamid Pakistan
1966 – –
1967 King Mohammed Zahir Shah Afghanistan
1968 Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin USSR
President Josip Broz Tito SFR Yugoslavia
1969 Prime Minister of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov Bulgaria
1970 King of the Belgians Baudouin Belgium
1971 President Julius Nyerere Tanzania
1972 Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Mauritius
1973 President Mobutu Sese Seko Zaire
1974 President Josip Broz Tito SFR Yugoslavia
1975 Prime Minister Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike Sri Lanka
President Kenneth Kaunda Zambia
1976 Prime Minister Jacques Chirac France
1977 First Secretary Edward Gierek Poland
1978 President Patrick Hillery Ireland
1979 Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser Australia
1980 President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing France
1981 President José López Portillo Mexico
1982 King Juan Carlos I Spain
1983 President Shehu Shagari Nigeria
1984 King Jigme Singye Wangchuck Bhutan
1985 President Raúl Alfonsín Argentina
1986 Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou Greece
1987 President Alan García Peru
1988 President Junius Jayewardene Sri Lanka
1989 General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh Viet Nam
1990 Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth Mauritius
1991 President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maldives
1992 President Mário Soares Portugal
1993 Prime Minister John Major United Kingdom
1994 Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong Singapore
1995 President Nelson Mandela South Africa
1996 President Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso Brazil
1997 Prime Minister Basdeo Panday Trinidad and Tobago
1998 President Jacques Chirac France
1999 King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev Nepal
2000 President Olusegun Obasanjo Nigeria
2001 President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Algeria
2002 President Cassam Uteem Mauritius
2003 President Mohammed Khatami Iran
2004 President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Brazil
2005 King Jigme Singye Wangchuck Bhutan
2006 King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Saudi Arabia
2007 President Vladimir Putin Russia
2008 President Nicolas Sarkozy Farnce
2009 President Nursultan Nazarbayev Kazakhstan
2010 President Lee Myung Bak Republic of Korea
2011 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Indonesia
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2023
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2021, 2022
No chief guest due to Covid pandemic
No chief guest due to Covid pandemic
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2020
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2019
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
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Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2018
Ten guests – heads of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states
Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia
Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Laos
Najib Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia
Aung San Suu Kyi, State counsellor of Myanmar
Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines
Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore
Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Vietnam
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2017
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2016
Francois Hollande, President of France
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2015
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2014
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2013
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan
Chief guest at Republic Day Parade 2012
Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand
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