For the first time in 55 years, chief guest unlikely at Republic Day parade of India (List Of All Chief Guests On Republic Day Parade of India since 1950)

 

For the first time in 55 years, chief guest unlikely at Republic Day parade

(overall happened 3 times earlier in 1952,53 and 66 when no invitations were sent)

 

 

India will be celebrating its 72nd Republic Day on 26 January 2021. India as an independent, sovereign, and democratic country implemented its constitution on 26 January 1950 (A country of the people, by the people, and for the people.)Since then, India is one of the largest Democratic Republic, celebrate a grand ceremony of Republic Day parade showcasing India’s military as well as rich cultural heritage every year and follow a tradition to invite a Foreign Leader every year.

This year UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited to the event but declined to come due to the new strain of coronavirus in his country that has led to the second phase of lockdown. (official notification was released by the UK Foreign Department)

Last time in 1993, United Kingdom Prime Minister John Major was invited as the chief guest and if Boris not has declined the invitation he would be 6^th the prime minister of the UK to visit India on republic day.

Do You Know:-.

 

• In 1966, there was no invitation extended due to the unfortunate demise of the then prime minister Shri.Lal Bahadur Shastri on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent. The new government headed by Mrs.Indira Gandhi was sworn 24th January just two days before Republic Day.
• The initial four Republic day parades were held at different places between 1950 to 1954 (Red Fort, Ramlila Grounds, Irwin Stadium, Kingsway). One of the reasons that no invitations were sent in1952 and 1953.
• But the first celebration was held at Rajpath in 1955. 
• The Indonesian President Sukarno was the first Chief Guest on the very first Republic Day parade of India.
• Representatives from the United Kingdom and France have been invited 5 times each.

·     

Do you know How Chief Guest is chosen for India's Republic Day?

The Chief Guest at India's Republic Day parade is accorded the country's highest honor in protocol terms with the prime purpose of inviting a Foreign Leader is to boost the bilateral relations and to show the diversity and prosperity of the Indian culture.

Six months prior to Republic Day, the Indian Government sends the invitation to either the Head of State or the Government subjected to the kind of relationship India has with the concerned country. 

Before sending the invitation, the approval of the Indian Prime Minister is sought in addition to the clearance from the President of India. 

Foreign guests for the Republic Day parade are usually given an official invitation by November to allow both sides adequate time for scheduling and preparations.

{ invitation is sent by the Indian Government (Ministry of External Affairs) on behalf of President Of India}

• In the year 2018, heads of state of not one, not two, but 10 countries graced the Republic Day Parade! It was the first time that such a large number of countries are represented at the event at once. These were Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. All these are members of ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations), with whom India shares warm relations.
• There have been occasions when Chief Guest has sent their representative on their behalf.
• There have been occasions in the past where the government has had to look for new guests for the Republic Day event.

Invitations to New Guests

·         In 2012, the Manmohan Singh government had approached the Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, to be the chief guest at the 2013 Republic Day Parade. A confirmation had been received from Oman for formal invitation. However, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said later declined to be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade.

After that, the external affairs ministry worked with the Bhutan government to invite King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck to be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade.

The formal invitation was extended by the then external affairs minister Salman Khurshid who visited Bhutan just two weeks ahead of the Republic Day in 2013.

·       For the 2019 Republic Day Parade, US President Donald Trump was the first choice for chief guest.

The external affairs ministry had approached the US government in the second half of 2018, and it seemed like the Trump administration had agreed. However, a statement was made later saying that Trump would not be able to attend the Parade.

However, no "formal invitation" was sent to Trump. Later, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attended the Parade as chief guest.

 

 Current Options for India:

• ·   According to a source, there are chances that Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa or President Gotabaya Rajapaksa could travel to India this year for the occasion. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is currently on a three-day trip to the country where he will be meeting the top leadership. 
• ·  Sources said the government is also considering extending an invitation to Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who was also the chief guest for the Republic Day parade in 2013.

List Of All Chief Guests On Republic Day Parade of India since 1950:-

Year	Guest Name	Country
1950	President Sukarno	Indonesia
1951	King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah	Nepal
1952	No invitation	---
1953	No invitation	---
1954	King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck	Bhutan
1955	Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad	Pakistan
1956	Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler Chief Justice Kotaro Tanaka	United Kingdom Japan
1957	Minister of Defence Georgy Zhukov	Soviet Union
1958	Marshall Ye Jianying	China
1959	Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip	United Kingdom
1960	President Kliment Voroshilov	USSR
1961	Queen Elizabeth II	United Kingdom
1962	Prime Minister Viggo Kampmann	Denmark
1963	King Norodom Sihanouk	Cambodia
1964	Chief of Defence Staff Lord Louis Mountbatten	United Kingdom
1965	Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hamid	Pakistan
1966	No invitation	No invitation
1967	King Mohammed Zahir Shah	Afghanistan
1968	Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin	USSR
	President Josip Broz Tito	SFR Yugoslavia
1969	Prime Minister of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov	Bulgaria
1970	King of the Belgians Baudouin	Belgium
1971	President Julius Nyerere	Tanzania
1972	Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam	Mauritius
1973	President Mobutu Sese Seko	Zaire
1974	President Josip Broz Tito	SFR Yugoslavia
	Prime Minister Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike	Sri Lanka
1975	President Kenneth Kaunda	Zambia
1976	Prime Minister Jacques Chirac	France
1977	First Secretary Edward Gierek	Poland
1978	President Patrick Hillery	Ireland
1979	Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser	Australia
1980	President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing	France
1981	President José López Portillo	Mexico
1982	King Juan Carlos I	Spain
1983	President Shehu Shagari	Nigeria
1984	King Jigme Singye Wangchuck	Bhutan
1985	President Raúl Alfonsín	Argentina
1986	Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou	Greece
1987	President Alan García	Peru
1988	President Junius Jayewardene	Sri Lanka
1989	General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh	Viet Nam
1990	Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth	Mauritius
1991	President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom	Maldives
1992	President Mário Soares	Portugal
1993	Prime Minister John Major	United Kingdom
1994	Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong	Singapore
1995	President Nelson Mandela	South Africa
1996	President Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso	Brazil
1997	Prime Minister Basdeo Panday	Trinidad and Tobago
1998	President Jacques Chirac	France
1999	King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev	Nepal
2000	President Olusegun Obasanjo	Nigeria
2001	President Abdelaziz Bouteflika	Algeria
2002	President Cassam Uteem	Mauritius
2003	President Mohammed Khatami	Iran
2004	President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva	Brazil
2005	King Jigme Singye Wangchuck	Bhutan
2006	King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud[	Saudi Arabia
2007	President Vladimir Putin	Russia
2008	President Nicolas Sarkozy	France
2009	President Nursultan Nazarbayev	Kazakhstan
2010	President Lee Myung Bak	Republic of Korea
2011	President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono	Indonesia
2012	Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra	Thailand
2013	King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck	Bhutan
2014	Prime Minister Shinzo Abe	Japan
2015	President Barack Obama	United States
2016	President François Hollande	France
2017	Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed	United Arab Emirates
2018	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Joko Widodo Thongloun Sisoulith Prime Minister Hun Sen Najib Razak President Htin Kyaw Rodrigo Roa Duterte Halimah Yacob Prayuth Chan-ocha Nguyễn Xuân Phúc	Brunei Indonesia Laos Cambodia Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam
2019	President Cyril Ramaphosa	South Africa
2020	President Jair Bolsonaro	Brazil
2021	Prime Minister Boris Johnson (canceled his visit)	United Kingdom