Keralas Republic Day Parade Tableau was rejected for the fifth time in six years by the Ministry of Defense.
As India prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the Constitution on 26 January, Kerala will not be featured in the Republic Day Parade 2025 at Kartavya Path in New Delhi. This marks another instance in which the states proposal did not make it to the final list, as it did in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2024.
The theme for this years Republic Day Parade tableaux is ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’ (Golden India: Heritage and Development), which embodies a vision of blending heritage with progress.
The selection process for state tableaux in the Republic Day Parade is managed by the Ministry of Defence through a thorough and transparent procedure. Each year, proposals from states, Union Territories (UTs), and central ministries are invited, followed by a senior-level consultative meeting to discuss ways to enhance tableau quality.
An expert committee, comprising professionals from various artistic fields, evaluates the tableaux based on creativity, uniqueness, the balance between heritage and development, and overall aesthetics.
All States and UTs, including those not selected for Kartavya Path, are invited to participate in Bharat Parv at Red Fort from 26 to 31 January 2025. This event offers an alternative platform to showcase their cultural and artistic heritage.
Several Opposition-ruled states, consistently excluded from the parade, have criticized the BJP-led Centre for perceived bias in the selection process following the rejection of their tableaux. The Ministry of Defence, however, asserts that the process is robust, transparent, and merit-based.
Some states’ tableaux will be absent from the parade due to logistical challenges, technical issues, and specific government directives. Among these, Odisha’s tableau proposal was rejected despite passing five rounds of the selection process, disappointing many in the state who were eager to see it featured.
Delhis tableau has also been excluded, marking the fourth time the national capital has been excluded. This has reignited a war of words between Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP. Kejriwal, who has led the Delhi government for nearly a decade, has spearheaded his party’s criticism of the BJP.
