New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu and her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who is also the chief guest of the 75th Republic Day celebrations, arrived at the majestic Kartavaya Path in the ‘traditional horse-drawn buggy’, accompanied by men in red uniforms atop majestic horses, the practice which is making a comeback after a gap of 40 years.
For the short ceremonial trip, the two presidents rode on a colonial-era open-air buggy and waved to crowds as they arrived at the destination ahead of the parade. After a gap of 40 years, the presidential carriage returned to the Republic Day celebrations, replacing the usual armoured limousine.
The presidential buggy was in use for Republic Day functions till 1984 but was discontinued after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The six-horse drawn, black-coloured carriage with gold-plated rims, red velvet interiors and an embossed Ashoka chakra originally belonged to the Viceroy of India during British rule. The buggy was used for ceremonial purposes and to travel around the presidential (then Viceroy) estate.
However, when the colonial rule ended, both India and newly-formed Pakistan vied for the luxurious buggy. To decide which country would keep the buggy, the two nations came up with a unique solution – toss a coin. India’s Colonel Thakur Govind Singh and Pakistan’s Sahabzada Yaqub Khan flipped the coin. Colonel Singh won the buggy for India.
Later, the buggy was used by the President to ride from Rashtrapati Bhavan to Parliament for the oath-taking ceremony. The carriage was also used to ferry the head of state to the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk on Kartavya Path to mark the end of Republic Day celebrations on January 29.
Several years after Independence, the use of the open-carriage, which was a common transport vehicle for the President, was discontinued owing to security threats. The traditional buggy was soon replaced with bullet-proof cars.
The historic buggy made a comeback in 2014 with President Pranab Mukherjee arriving in it to attend the Beating Retreat ceremony.
