All-woman Agniveer contingent, robotic mules make debut at Army Day Parade

The 77th Army Day Parade on Wednesday saw many firsts which included an all-girl marching contingent from the National Cadet Corps (NCC), an all-woman Agniveer contingent and a pack of nimble four-legged robotic mules.

The annual parade took place at Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) and Centre in this historic city of Maharashtra which comes under the Army's Southern Command.

Pune hosted the prestigious parade for the first time.

While the Army displayed its military might through some of the latest platforms, the debutants got much eyeballs during and after the event.

And, the girl cadets of the NCC and women Agniveers who trained at Corps of Military Police (CMP), Centre and School at Bengaluru, couldn't have been happier.

"It is a remarkable day for us. We finished training last November at the CMP and and for the last one month have been practising for the Army Day Parade. We did a lot of hardwork for this. We felt very proud and even civilians were cheering for us," Agniveer Ghugare Samiksha Vinod, who hails from Solapur district, told PTI.

Agniveer Ankita Pujari Basvaraj was equally ecstatic after the end of the parade, cherishing the proud moments.

"When we compare ourselves with members of the male contingents and feel that we are able to march like them, it adds to our 'josh'," a beaming Basvaraj said.

Leading them was Capt Sandhya M, a former NCC cadet, who said she felt doubly proud as the contingent that followed them in the parade was of girl cadets drawn from Maharashtra Directorate of the Corps.

She and her contingent members hope more girls and young women will aspire to join the armed forces seeing their achievements today.

While women Agniveers were dressed in a black uniform with a green-and-red headgear, the NCC cadets smartly turned out in their trademark khakhi and sported green caps crowned with a red hackle.

Naina Rawat was the commander of the contingent of girl cadets, and after the parade she celebrated their moment in the sun with her fellow cadets with group photographs, selfies and whole lot of cheers to pump up the spirit.

"We are feeling so proud. We are the first batch of NCC girl cadets who took part in the Army Day Parade," Rawat told PTI.

Alize Quaxi, another cadet, said the pride and the sheer feeling of the grandeur that everyone experienced will "motivate us" and hopefully other girls to join the NCC and the armed forces eventually.

But, there were some non-human debutants too in the parade -- 'robotic mules'.

A set of 12 'robotic mules' in a formation of two equal rows followed by their handlers, were an instant winner among the audience that consisted of Army officers, defence personnel, many of their family members, veterans, and former Army chiefs including Gen Manoj Pande (retd), gallantry awardees, besides VVIP dignitaries.

These 'robotic mules', inducted last year, represent the Army's steps towards modernisation of the force. These nimble-footed machines can carry loads, as also go to inaccessible areas, and engage militants also, officials said.

The theme for the 77th Army Day celebrations was 'Samarth Bharat, Saksham Sena', and the focus this time was to demonstrate the capabilities of the Army contributing to a stronger nation, they said.

For celebrations this year, the parade ground at the BEG and Centre was decked up with military colours bearing insignias of the Army and the Southern Command, besides thematic posters carrying the theme and taglines such as 'military might and valour', 'Atmanirbharta', 'inter-Services operability' and 'Nari Shakti'.