Beating Retreat ceremony with nationalised flavour disappoints many

The changes made to the sole foreign composition that is still in the programme have drawn the sharpest criticism, writes Ajai Shukla

The Beating Retreat ceremony that marks the end of the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi each year has its origins in ancient warfare. At the end of the day’s battle, drums would be sounded to signal a halt in fighting, the withdrawal of forces, the gathering and disposal of the dead and the lowering of flags to honour those who had made the supreme sacrifice.

Over the centuries, the ceremony was adapted in various ways. In England, an order from King William III in 1694 stated that drummers would march down the main streets of various townships, their drumming