The annual Army Day parade on January 15 has been cancelled and the Army has recommended that the Republic Day parade on 26 January also not be held this year.
The government is considering this recommendation. Chief of Army Staff Gen S Padmanabhan took these decisions after consultations with senior Army staff on Saturday. It was felt that with such largescale deployment of troops along the Western border, it would not be possible to have an Army Day parade.
Barring troops posted in the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Red Fort, all others in Delhi have moved to the Western Border.
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Two brigades are usually posted in Delhi so about 10,000 soldiers have been moved. This deployment is more elaborate than before the Kargil engagement. It is mobilisation for war. After 1971, it is the first time deployment on this scale has been done. In fact, the only arm of the defence services that has not been called out is civil defence - Home Guards, etc.
Senior Army Headquarters sources told Business Standard that if the Army Day parade had been cancelled for reasons of logistics, this would apply to the Republic Day parade as well. Enormous organisation is needed to mount the Republic Day parade which involves the coordinated movement of vehicles and marching contingents.
However, cancelling a Republic Day parade presents a diplomatic and political problem for the government. The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is the Chief Guest for the 26th January parade of 2002. It would be discourteous to disinvite him at this stage.
Also domestically, cancelling an event as important as the Republic Day parade could create panic and send the wrong signal to the nation. This will be the first time in India's history that any government will have taken such a step.
In the circumstances, the government could decide to have a truncated parade, without the full complement of troops. A decision on this will have to be taken this week.