the accompaniment of martial musicwith their shining turbans and resplendent attire men of the punjab sikh jat mahar bihar dogra madras and rashtriya rifles marched past saluting their commanderinchief who appeared at ease in his first republic day appearancerajpath resembled a sea as the guided missile carrier ins delhi and the 4000 ton ins talwar cruised through itpresent on the occasion were vicepresident bhairon singh shekhawat deputy prime minister l k advani former prime ministers p v narasimha rao i k gujral v p singh and h d deve gowda three chiefs of staff union ministers lok sabha speaker manohar joshi rajya sabha deputy chairperson najma heptulla leader of opposition sonia gandhi and members of the diplomatic corps