Thanks to the coronavirus, India will not host a Head of Government or Head of State during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi for the first time in decades. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson canceled his plans, owing to the emergence of a new strain of the virus.
(Image above courtesy Twitter/Indian Diplomacy)
With conversations surrounding the lack of a foreign leader attending India’s Republic Day celebrations gaining traction on social media, it became imperative for history buffs like us to look back at the leaders we invited in the past. While India has invited many foreign leaders for its Republic Day celebrations, there is one who stands very tall.
When India celebrated its first Republic Day on 26 January 1950, the newly sworn-in Government of India, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, invited President Sukarno of Indonesia. There was a reason why India invited this anti-colonial giant from South East Asia on the appointed day when it cut the last of its ties to…