In friendly India visit, Obama becomes first president to attend Republic Day Parade


President Obama began a three-day visit to India on Sunday, and the protocol-bending hug at the airport from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for a day filled with public displays of affection. The two leaders said the visit marked an era of "new trust" between the sometimes-uneasy allies, and announced a breakthrough on a long-stalled civil nuclear agreement plus partnerships on defense and curbing some greenhouse gas emissions.
Obama spent most of Sunday in talks with Modi, who said at a press conference afterward that "the chemistry that has brought Barack and me closer has also brought Washington and Delhi closer." But the big event in Obama's visit was on Monday, when he became the first U.S. president to attend India's Republic Day Parade, as the personal guest of Modi.
The parade, to celebrate the enactment of India's democratic constitution, "is part Soviet-style display of India's military hardware, part Macy's Thanksgiving Day-type parade with floats highlighting India's cultural diversity," explains The Associated Press' Julie Pace. You can get a taste of Obama's parade-watching experience in this AP video, and watch a Reuters report on the first day of Obama's visit below. —Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A daring leap, a plastic protest, and more
-
The origins of the IDF
In Depth The IDF was formed by uniting Zionist paramilitary groups, WWII veterans and Holocaust survivors
-
Deadly fungus tied to a pharaoh's tomb may help fight cancer
Under the radar A once fearsome curse could be a blessing
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.