Andhra Pradesh Table. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
The expert committee did not approve the Delhi government’s tableau proposal for Republic Day 2025 while Mizoram and Sikkim expressed their inability to participate this time. Officials from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep did not attend the expert committee meeting between 15 states and union territories that was originally selected from the roster for next year’s program on January 26, defense sources said. Instead of five states, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have been given a chance, sources said.
Against the backdrop of repeated controversies over the selection of the schedule for the Republic Day parade and years of complaints from states, ahead of this year’s parade, the defense ministry had proposed a roll-over scheme for states and union territories to display their parades and had a roster. ready for2024, 2025, and 2026 under which each State and Union Territory will have an opportunity to present at least once in a period of three years.
“The expert committee looks at various aspects of theme, concept, design and visual elements. Among the 15 states and union territories on the roster, the expert committee did not approve Delhi’s table proposal,” a source said.
The details of the Delhi government’s proposal and the specific reasons why it was not accepted were not immediately known, but sources said that Delhi has presented its tableau seven times in two decades.
As to why Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were continuously re-selected, a source said that there were more states that were represented more times in the last two decades than the former two states. It includes Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Assam.
Ahead of the Republic Day Parade 2024, a controversy arose as Delhi, Punjab and Karnataka alleged discrimination as their proposals were rejected.
After agreeing on a three-year rollover plan in January this year, many of the states selected to present tableaus in the Republic Day Parade along the line of duty presented them at the Bharat Parva at the Red Fort, including Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Assam and Uttarakhand.
The Ministry of Defense has an elaborate screening mechanism to select participants for the parade. As per the practice, an expert committee consisting of artists and Padma awardees from various fields is constituted to decide on the theme, aesthetics and criteria and screen the proposals from various states, union territories and government departments.
published – December 21, 2024 at 11:10 am IST