Republic Day chief guests: When world leaders grace Rajpath
When President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt attends India’s colourful Republic Day celebration on January 26 this year, he will be carrying forward a legacy that began when New Delhi turned a Republic in 1950.
Monarchs and military leaders as well as Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries from all around the globe have been invited to be Chief Guests at the annual event that showcases India’s military might and cultural diversity.
Bilateral considerations
The chief guest is usually chosen from a country with which India has warm ties and whose presence is expected to deepen the bilateral relations.
While Indonesian President Sukarno was the chief guest at the first Republic Day in 1950, the event was held at different places in the national capital until 1954.
It was from 1955 that the Republic Day celebration made Rajpath – the stretch of road that takes off from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, and now named Kartavya Path – its permanent home.
The first chief guest on Rajpath was Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad of Pakistan.
UK and France top list
The maximum chief guests have been from the United Kingdom and France (5 times each).
Russia and the erstwhile Soviet Union have sent 4 chief guests including incumbent President Vladimir Putin. So has Bhutan, which has close ties with India.
President Barack Obama came in 2015 – surprisingly the only chief guest from the United States, a country with which India has had excellent relations.
Obama was also the first chief guest in 2015 after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister.
President Francois Hollande of France and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates came in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
History created
Prime Minister Modi created history in 2018 by inviting the heads of state or government from all 10 member countries of the Association of South East Asians (ASEAN): Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
The only country in South Asia which has not had a chief guest at the Republic Day is Bangladesh, which became an independent nation in 1971 in the wake of the India-Pakistan war.
Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil were chief guests in 2019 and 2020.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain accepted the invitation in 2021 but didn’t attend amid a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases.
The pandemic forced India not to invite anyone in 2022.
A chief guest at the Republic Day is decided months in advance, and an invite goes out after ascertaining that he or she would be able to make it to India just ahead of January 26.
There were no chief guests only on three occasions: 1952, 1953 and 1966.
