The 'Beating Retreat' ceremony, held at Vijay Chowk on 29 January, officially denotes the end of:

The Beating Retreat ceremony is held every year on the evening of 29 January at Vijay Chowk, in New Delhi, and it officially marks the end of the Republic Day celebrations, which begin on 26 January.

The ceremony is based on an old military tradition from Britain, in which, at sunset, the drummers would "beat the retreat" to tell the troops to stop fighting, return to their camps and lower their flags. In India, the ceremony was first held in the 1950s. It is performed by the massed bands of the three services of the armed forces, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, together with the bands of the Central Armed Police Forces. The bands play martial tunes and popular Indian tunes while marching in precise formations in the beautiful setting of Vijay Chowk, with the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the North Block and the South Block in the background. The President of India, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, is the chief guest. At the end of the ceremony, the national flag is lowered, the bands march back, and the buildings are lit up.

For many years, the ceremony ended with the Christian hymn "Abide With Me", which was believed to be a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi. In 2022, it was replaced with the patriotic song "Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon", to give the ceremony a more Indian character. In recent years, more Indian tunes have been included in the programme.

The Republic Day celebrates the coming into force of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950. The main celebration is the Republic Day Parade on Kartavya Path (formerly Rajpath) in New Delhi, with displays by the armed forces and colourful tableaux of the states.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Independence Day celebrations (15 August) are marked by the flag hoisting at the Red Fort.
• ✗The Army Day celebrations are held on 15 January.
• ✗The Gandhi Jayanti celebrations are held on 2 October.