Commandos, camels and missiles march as India gears up for R-Day bash

The parade showcases India's defence capability, cultural and social heritage.

A full dress rehearsal of the 68th Republic Day parade was held at Rajpath in the national capital on Monday. The parade commenced from Vijay Chowk and will proceed to Red Fort where it commences. The parade showcases India's defence capability, cultural and social heritage.

Here are the pics of the full dress rehearsal of India's largest and most important parade:

Camel Battalion

Camel-mounted infantry brigade marching down Rajpath. Camel battalion was raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. Now they guard India's border in Rajasthan's desert areas.

DRDO showcasing India's missile strength

Missiles developed by DRDO have always been an important part of the Republic Day parade

Tamil Nadu's tableau

The tableau of Tamil Nadu at Rajpath. The tableaux are selected through a very competitive process and a high-level committee headed by the Defence Secretary makes the selection.

Commando forces marching on Rajpath

India's commando forces marching on Rajpath as part of the parade

Akash missiles

Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for Missile Systems, Ordnance Factories Board and Bharat Electronics (BEL).

The missile system can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m.

Motorcycle daredevils

The two-hour showcase of military might and cultural diversity included everything from tanks and state-of-the-art weaponry to camels and traditional dancers.

The parade also includedbike stunts by the armed forces, which is an annual tradition, before the grand finale of the event, a fly-past by the fighter jets.

The full dress rehearsal of the parade is organized on January 23rd every year to take stock of the preparedness. The Republic Day celebrations, which last three days, culminates on the evening of January 29. The Beating Retreat ceremony officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.