West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are set to showcase their tableaux that were rejected by the central government for the Republic Day parade. While the Mamata Banerjee government showcased its Netaji tableau on Red Road, the MK Stalin government’s tableau featuring the contributions of freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu in the Indian Independence movement was showcased in Chennai.
CM Stalin had expressed disappointment over the exclusion of Tamil Nadu’s tableau from the Republic Day parade, and had even written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention.
Describing the tableau to PM Modi, Stalin had written, “The design had VOC, the famous freedom fighter who founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 during Indian Independence movement to compete against the British. The design also had Subramania Bharathi, popularly known as Maha Kavi Bharathiar, who kindled patriotism in the minds of the people with his fiery patriotic songs and writings during the Indian Independence movement.”
He also said that the rear of the tableau was designed to showcase a statue of Rani Velu Nachiyar riding a horse with a sword in hand and with women soldiers. “She was the first Indian queen to wage a war with the East India Company in India. She was the queen of Sivagangai region from 1780 to 1790 and blew up an ammunition storage of East India Company by arranging a suicide attack,” Stalin wrote.
On the other hand, the Bengal tableau on Netaji has been decked up with a statue and bust of Netaji which are both around seven feet tall. The bust will be at the rear part. It is one of the biggest tableaus and will be the prime attraction of the R-Day parade, an official was quoted by Times of India.
The tableau has been decked up with the words ‘Jayatu Netaji’ and with Netaji’s statue in its frontal part is around 52-feet long, around 11-feet wide and 16-feet high.
An expert committee comprising eminent persons from various disciplines of art shortlists the tableaux for the Republic Day parade on Delhi’s Rajpath. While there is a well-established system for the selection of the tableaux, the process becomes a flashpoint for the play of regional politics nearly every year.
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