16 states, UTs set to join parade on Republic Day

This will be the first Republic Day celebrations after Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard, was renamed Kartavya Path last year.

Tableaux from at least 16 states and other Union territories, with themes ranging from spiritualism to women participation, are likely to be featured in this year’s Republic Day parade, people familiar with the development said on Friday.

India Navy Band Contingent rehearses for the Republic Day Parade 2023 at the Kartavya Path, in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT)

This will be the first Republic Day celebrations after Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard, was renamed Kartavya Path last year.

HT learnt that the tableaux of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal as well as the UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are likely to have been selected for display during the parade on January 26.

Uttar Pradesh, which won back-to-back prizes for its tableau in the last two years, has decided to feature the Ayodhya Deepotsav this year. This is the second time in three years that the state has picked Ayodhya as the theme. “A large idol of sage Vashishtha, the family guru of Lord Ram, would be placed on the front portion of the tableau that will also feature a large replica of a lamp, symbolising end of ignorance and the spreading of the light of knowledge,” said a senior Uttar Pradesh government official, requesting anonymity.

Eight out of the nine states that are scheduled to go to the assembly polls in 2023 are unlikely to be featured. Only poll-bound Tripura has been shortlisted.

An official from Tripura culture department said the state’s tableau will be themed as “sustainable livelihood through tourism and active participation of women”. “Mahamuni Pagoda (Buddhist Stupa) will be depicted at the front of the tableau and the centre-stage will showcase indigenous performing art forms, such as Hojagiri and Mamita besides SHG women at work, and women with baskets of pineapples,” said the official, also declining to be named.

The Centre’s decision to reportedly exclude poll-bound Karnataka from showcasing its tableau during the Republic Day parade sparked a political row in the southern state, with opposition Congress attacking the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly, Siddaramaiah questioned the BJP government’s “seriousness” in upholding the state’s pride. “Had they put in a little more thought in designing the theme, Karnataka could have presented its tableaux on Republic Day,” he said in a tweet.

The state government, however, said the tableau will not be showcased as the Centre set guidelines for providing opportunities to states that were not able to get many opportunities over the last eight years.

Last year, states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal voiced their displeasure after their respective tableau for the Republic Day parade were not picked.