As women led the 75th Republic Day Parade on Kartavya Path on January 26, young girls beamed with pride, hoping to occupy the same space one day.
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Nari Shakti was on display as Major Saumya Shukla of the Army Service Corps unfurled the National Flag and Lieutenant Priyanka Sevda of the 262 Field Regiment led the Pinaka rocket system.
An all-woman tri-services contingent marched down Kartavya Path for the first time, while women personnel of the CRPF, the BSF, and the SSB performed daredevil stunts on motorcycles.
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An awestruck Anikita, hailing from Uttar Pradesh and studying in Class 1, said she wanted to become a Naval officer and march for the country just like the didis (older sisters) had done.
The Republic Day parade comes just a few months after the women’s reservation Bill was passed by Parliament. The law seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.
Arushi, a 14-year-old from Delhi, watched the live broadcast of the parade at home. “I looked closely every time women were leading the parade. I want to write the Civil Services exams one day and hope to the lead the country on important platforms.”
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Samriddhi, who is in Class 6, said she had attended the parade earlier too but this time she was amazed by the number of women taking part in it.
“I want to make my country and parents proud like this someday as well. I think, I want to become a pilot,” she said.
Arushi Shukla, 20, a student at Delhi University, who attended the parade for the first time, said, “India’s women are at the forefront in all aspects, and it was beautiful to see that we even had a woman President, that too from the tribal community, giving representation to all.”
“It’s great to see women in leadership roles. India has come a long way, and we need to keep achieving greater heights,” she said.