India hosted French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Republic Day on Saturday with a parade showcasing its military might amid tight security across the country, especially in the restive north-east and Kashmir.
Around 20,000 troops and police, including snipers on high-rise buildings, guarded India's capital and checked cars coming into the city. Sandbagged posts dotted the city centre.
Every year, rebels call for the boycott of India's Republic Day and often carry out attacks on security forces and government buildings to protest India's founding as a republic, but few incidents were reported this year in the run-up to the parade.
In held Kashmir, people stayed indoors and businesses were closed in occupied Srinagar, the state's main city, after separatists called a strike to mark what they say is a "black day." "Indian forces have let loose a reign of terror across Kashmir," separatist alliance, All Parties Hurriyat (freedom) Conference, said in a statement.
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