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Drone show at Beating Retreat ceremony marks end of Republic Day celebrations A thousand aircraft flew in formation in the night skies above the capital New Delhi, flashing the saffron, white and green of the national flag
AFP
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Drones form a shape of the Indian flag during the Beating the Retreat ceremony in New Delhi, India. Credit: Reuters Photo
Drones form a shape of the Indian flag during the Beating the Retreat ceremony in New Delhi, India. Credit: Reuters Photo

A week of military pageantry ended on Saturday with a synchronised drone display showcasing India's homegrown tech industry, in patriotic celebrations marking a milestone in the country's independence history.

A thousand aircraft flew in formation in the night skies above the capital New Delhi, flashing the saffron, white and green of the national flag, before rearranging themselves into a silhouette of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

The light show closed a series of extravagant sunset troop manoeuvres for India's Beating Retreat, a music-filled drill ceremony for soldiers returning to base that has its origins in 17th-century British military tradition.

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It is staged each year three days after the country's annual celebrations to mark the anniversary of India's 1950 republican constitution.

The event has special significance this year as the nation of 1.4 billion people prepares to mark 75 years since the end of British colonial rule in August.

This year's Beating Retreat sparked a minor local controversy over the decision by PM Narendra Modi's government to drop the Christian hymn "Abide With Me" from the ceremony's featured songs.

The hymn, said to be a favourite of Gandhi, was dropped because it was a sign of the country's colonial past, media reports said, quoting government sources.

The song had been a permanent fixture of the ceremony since 1950.

It has been replaced by a patriotic song dedicated to Indian soldiers who died in a brief border war with China in 1962.

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(Published 29 January 2022, 19:56 IST)