Republic Day 2022: Mahatma Gandhi’s Favourite Christian Hymn ‘Abide With Me’ Dropped From Beating Retreat Ceremony Tunes

The Beating Retreat ceremony, performed at Vijay Chowk in Delhi in the evening of January 29 every year, marks the end of Republic Day festivities.

New Delhi: The Christian hymn ‘Abide with me’, said to be one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourites, has been dropped from the list of Beating Retreat ceremony tunes two years after it was first speculated, according to a brochure released by the Indian Army on Saturday. The Beating Retreat ceremony, performed at Vijay Chowk in Delhi in the evening of January 29 every year, marks the end of Republic Day festivities. The brochure also listed 26 tunes that will be played at this year’s ceremony.

The solemn hymn was played all these years on January 29 at the Beating Retreat ceremony — a centuries-old military tradition that, in war, marked the end of fighting for the day, with soldiers sheathing arms and withdrawing from the battlefield. This year’s ceremony will conclude with ‘Saare Jahan Se Acha’, the brochure stated.

The development comes a day after the controversy over the shifting of Amar Jawan Jyoti from India Gate — where it existed for 50 years — to the new National War Memorial. In 2020, the plan to drop the ‘Abide with me’ hymn – known to be Mahatama Gandhi’s favourite, triggered row as it was being seen as a non-inclusive approach by the Narendra Modi-led government. However, the hymn was played in the years 2020 and 2021, putting to rest all speculations.

Over the last few years, Indian compositions have made their way into the military bands that earlier mostly played British martial tunes. This year, Lata Mangeshkar’s song ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’ was on the list of tunes other than military compositions. It will be followed by Iqbal’s ‘Saare jahan se achha’, the last composition to be played, reported India Today.