January in India’s capital is one of the best times to be in —- gardens resplendent with bright flowers and greener grass, rays of heavenly warm sunlight streaming straight from azure skies where you could spot formations of migratory birds coming in from far-off lands, and not to speak of the nip and the chill in the air playing hide and seek with a light fog at day-break.
January is also the time when the Republic Day parade takes place at Rajpath and the world knows today that the guest to be is none other than Barrack Obama, the most powerful man in the planet who has accepted India’s invitation to grace the occasion, not to speak of the feather in the cap that its Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be picking up.
But then the realities are far away from the pleasantness that Delhi offers. The security that Obama would be offered would be much too unprecedented that is yet witnessed for a state-guest who had been coming in each year for the parade since 1950 when President Sukarno of Indonesia was the chief guest.
President Obama, sixty-five years later, comes at a time when the levels of threat perceptions are the highest in the sub-continent which is also billed as one of the most dangerous places in the world.
As the Air Force One lands in Delhi in the wee hours of January 24-25, Obama is supposed to have a series of bi-lateral talks spanning areas of civil nuclear cooperation and the critical defense pacts for India’s burgeoning military needs.
And it is on the next day, on January 26, when he would be watching the parade for at least two hours, a time-limit that has not been unsurpassed by the President while being “outdoor” on a state visit. (The final day in India, 27th would be spend in an address by Obama.)
But it is the 26th that is giving sleepless nights for those manning the multi-layers of security (seven in all) even as the ‘’Beast’’ would be among the 30 Cadillac’s gliding down the Raj Path from Raisina Hill gradient toward the majestic India Gate, the nucleus of parade activity. It is also understood that Obama would not travel with his counter-part Pranab Mukherjee from the British Built mansion –the Rajpath as tradition demands owing to the sheer security concerns.
The Republic day parade, which usually lasts about two hours, could be stretched this time because of the sheer importance that the event has now been snow-balled into. This has the Americans worried too for Obama has never been out on a public function for more than 45 minutes –if so this would be another unprecedented, uncharted territory for those who take care of Obama’s personal safety.
The number of tableaux would increase from 20-25 just to impress the President of the US! And that would surely take time.
But Delhi is in the process of transforming itself into an impregnable fortress anyways and the loop-holes just do not exist. Taking into consideration that Obama receives over 20 threats a day (while Modi gets over 10 threats) the US’ Secret Service, CIA, Navy Seals and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Branch (IB), National Security Guard (NSG), Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and Army of both countries will be on their toes.
There would be an assemblage of a number of bullet proof cars, SWAT teams, NSG commandoes and commandoes from the US will be spilling out in the India Gate area. The Indian Army would be scanning the skies with s anti-aircraft guns and other air defense measures while the US is expected to bring its own whole air-security entourage. Meanwhile, air traffic to New Delhi is expected to be completely halted during the event on January 26.
Even the humble flower pots in the vicinity are subject to intense frisking too, after a tip off that they could contain explosives inside them. And right above these flower pots, the sky is another threat. The US had asked India to maintain a no-fly zone over India Gate and vicinity during the parade, but the request had been politely turned down.
The no-fly would also mean that India cannot have the fly-past ,which this time would constitute of 18 fighter jets, five aircraft and 10 helicopters apart from the newly acquired from US like the C-130J ‘Super Hercules’, C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift and Poseidon-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft in deals worth upwards of US$7 billion.
Obama’s visit comes four months after Modi’s “highly successful” visit to the US. This is Obama’s second visit to India after November 2010 when a series of business deals worth more than US$10 billion struck at a time when the US economy was still reeling from recession. The general consensus is that the presidential visit will result in translating the prevailing positive energy into substantive business deals and other bi-lateral co-operations.
It must be recalled that when the US President traveled to Myanmar last year to attend the East Asia Summit six plane-loads of equipment, vehicles, oil tankers and choppers, and 1,600 American personnel had traveled to the capital Nay Pyi Taw!!