From Winners to RAF woman unit, ‘nari shakti’ to take centre stage on Jan 26

Kolkata: The 50-minute-long Republic Day parade at Red Road, scheduled to kick off around 10.30 am, will feature a combination of defence and Kolkata Police personnel.However, what will stand out this year is witnessing one of the highest contingents of female personnel marching through the heart of the city. "Nari shakti (woman power) will be showcased at this year's Republic Day parade," said sources, with women IPS officers leading not just the female-, but even the male-dominant contingents.
Both Kolkata Police and the Bengal Police will be sending their RAF woman unit to the parade. The all-women Police Winners team will be a mix of both Kolkata Police and Bengal Police, one of the largest this year. The final full dress rehearsal on Saturday saw the finalisation of each detail. The units will march shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts, with the all-girl school contingent — one of the four schools participating this year — adding to the numbers. Kolkata Police will be displaying its units — Winners, Disaster Management Group, the motorcycle unit, and the RAF—along with Traffic during the show.The decision to showcase the woman forces was a conscious one, said Lalbazar, as all these units now play an important role in maintaining law and order in the city. Since 2023, they were part of the marching units, and their numbers grew each year. "This yea most marching police contingents have an equal share of men and women," said Subhankar Bhattacharya, joint commissioner (AP).Cops said top officials at Nabanna were particularly excited about showcasing the women contingents this year, especially the Winners unit. CM Mamata Banerjee had announced in 2022 that 2,020 policewomen would be recruited for Winners, all-women squads in Kolkata and other police commissionerates and some police districts in Bengal. "This year, we finished most of these recruitments, thereby increasing the presence of women in the force," said an officer.