At a time when New Delhi and Dhaka are celebrating the golden jubilee of the birth of Bangladesh, a marching contingent of Bangladesh Army comprising 96 soldiers has been invited to take part in this year’s Indian Republic Day Parade to be held on January 26.

It is for the second time that foreign country’s troops are invited to take part in the biggest ceremonial event at Rajpath. Earlier, in 2016, a contingent of French 130 soldiers had marched down Rajpath with the then French President Francois Hollande as the chief guest.

The Bangladeshi contingent of 96 soldiers will carry their BD-08 rifles -- a licence-produced variant of the Chinese Type 81 7.62mm assault weapon. Such assault rifles are being produced by the Bangladesh Ordnance Factories, manufacturing more than 10,000 such rifles every year.

According to Hindustan Times, this year’s parade will be a little shorter and will comprise around 25,000 spectators. Keeping in mind the threats posed by deadly coronavirus, there has been a change in the participation of the military squad.

This year’s squad would only comprise 96 participants as compared to 144 and instead of traditional square formation the marching contingent will be seen in a rectangular formation in order to maintain a safest distance amongst the troops. The shortened route of the parade will see its end at the National Stadium, not the Red Fort.

Source: daily sun