The 72nd Republic Day celebrations held at Rajpath made several firsts, this year. India's first female fight pilot was part of the contingent. We saw a display of Naari Shakti across the tableaux from different states and across defence and military displays. Here's a list of women in the spotlight on Republic Day.
1. Bhawna Kanth
Bhawna Kanth is India's first female fighter pilot have participated in the Republic Day. She was a part of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) tableaux that showcased mock-ups of the light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter and the Sukhoi-30 fighter jet. Posted at an airbase in Rajasthan, she flew the MiG-21 Bison fighter plane.
Bhawana Kanth becomes first female fighter pilot to participate in the Republic Day parade. #RepublicDay2021 pic.twitter.com/pnlSTbAX1m
— SheThePeople (@SheThePeople) January 26, 2021
2. Khushi Srivastava
Srivastava is the only cadet from Lucknow to be chosen for the 200-strong National Cadet Corps (NCC) contingent drawn from numerous components of the nation for the Republic Day parade. Total 13 cadets – 9 women and 4 boys – have been chosen from Uttar Pradesh.
She is the only cadet from Lucknow to be selected to be a part of the 200 strong National Cadet Corps(NCC) contingent for the parade. #RepublicDay2021https://t.co/UQbdz1pVI2
— SheThePeople (@SheThePeople) January 26, 2021
3. Preeti Choudhary
Captain Preeti Choudhary was the only woman officer to be marching for the Indian army this anniversary of our Republication. She was the contingent commander of the Schilka Air Defence.
Captain Preeti Choudhary of 140 Air Defence Regiment (Self Propelled) leads upgraded Schilka Weapon system. She is the only woman contingent commander from Army at #RepublicDay parade 2021.
— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2021
Schilka Weapon system is equipped with modern radar and digital fire control computers. pic.twitter.com/2FKa38lXA8
4.Swati Rathore
Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Swati Rathore scripted history by becoming the first woman to lead the flypast at the Republic Day parade at Delhi's Rajpath.
The first woman to lead flypast on republic day has garnered many feathers in her hat. While in NCC, she won a gold medal in shooting. In 2013, she appeared for the Airforce Common Admission Test in 2013 and was selected in her first attempt. The 28-year-old officer was also part of the rescue operation conducted by IAF during the 2018 Kerala floods.
5. Jyoti Kumar
Jyoti Kumari, the “Cycle Girl” who brought her injured father Mohan Paswan on a bicycle riding 1200 kms to Gurugram from her village Darbhanga in Bihar during the lockdown was awarded the Pradhan Mantri Bal Puraskar.
6. Samridhi Hansal
In full display of character and strength, we see the cadet being led by Senior Under Officer Samruddhi Harshal Sant of NCC Directorate, Maharashtra.
#RepublicDay: NCC Girls marching contingent led by Senior Under Officer Samruddhi Harshal Sant of NCC Directorate, Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/W3kUExxW9g
— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2021
7. Commander Sneha Kulkarni
She became the first woman pilot to be inducted into any aerobatics display team in India was seen in the helicopters. The display by the four helicopter team was a key attraction on Tuesday morning at Rajpath.