When the Suranjana band of the Assam Police plays its quintessential Kadam Kadam Bhadaye Ja or the Central Brass Band of 10AP Bn plays Almora Quick March, just next to your house, you could be forgiven for thinking that you have been transported to the central celebration of the Independence Day Parade at the Veterinary College Ground at Khanapara in Guwahati. The fact of the matter is that the Assam Government is mulling to bring them and other contingents near your household to celebrate the continuation of the Amrit Kaal.
This 77th Independence Day celebration in Guwahati could be the beginning of a trend that may well become the new norm. Not only the 20-plus contingent will come out of their traditional frontier of the Khanapara Veterinary Playground onto the nearby areas, but a couple of days prior to that important locations in the city may well witness these contingent marching in unison to drive home the meaning of Azadi.
“The venue could be Dighalipukhuri on August 13 when NCC cadets and a few contingents of the Assam Police Battalions may march in full public view to build up the momentum for August 15,” Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Inspector General of Police, Training and Armed Police, Assam Police told Asom Barta.
“Based on the vision of the Chief Minister, this path-breaking parade will give a new meaning to August 15. We are focusing on new recruits this time,” the IGP told this reporter. “Since the parade this year will have a longer duration and the marching distance would be more compared to the past, we are also inviting a band from one of the Central Armed Police Forces to join our ranks.The idea is to make the parade more youthful.”
One of the special attractions would be a first-time parade of women foresters currently being trained at the 11th AP Bn in Dergaon.
“Nearly 200 personnel in three groups will go from the Police Training College in Dergaon to Guwahati to take part in the parade,” Deputy Inspector General of Police (Training), PTC, Charandeep Singh told this newsletter over phone.
Meanwhile, formal training for the August 15 parade in the Commando Battalion in Mandakata in Kamrup will begin from
August 1.
Subedar Ajit Gogoi, the band master of 10AP Bn, expressed his excitement for the forthcoming I-Day celebrations. “We have prepared our theme already keeping in mind the fact that the parade this time will be a bit longer than previous years. Our songs are in place. We will commence formal training from August 1,” he said.
Locals, too, are excited. Jitmoni Gogoi of Cotton University said that earlier he used to go to Khanapara to witness the I-Day celebrations, but this will be a different experience. “The celebrations in Khanapara made us feel that the arrangements were Government-centric in nature. I feel with this initiative of the Government, we will be involved in the entire exercise. Following last year’s Har Ghar Tiranga camapign, this will be a new experience,” he said.
Silpukhuri resident Mamoni Kashyap cannot wait to be part of the celebration. When told about the planned celebration in Dighalipukhuri, she told this publication that these are signals of changing times. “We have come a long way since the difficult times of the late 1990s and 2000s,” she said.
