How are tableaux for Republic Day selected

New Delhi, Jan 18: This year there will be 21 tableaux for the Republic Day parade. The tableaux are from 12 states and Union Territories and nine departments under the Central Government or independent institutions.

West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the tableau from the state had been rejected. She said that the same was rejected without assigning any reasons or justification.

Bengal was set to commemorate the contributions of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA on his 125th birth anniversary. Kerala tableau was to feature Sree Narayan Guru and the same was not selected as well.

How are the tableaux for Republic Day selected:

The selection of the tableaux is the responsibility of the Defence Ministry. There is also a coordinating body responsible for this process. The selection is done by an expert committee of the Defence Ministry.

A committee comprising distinguished persons from various fields are also involved in shortlisting the tableaux. These persons are from the field of art, culture, sculpture, music, panting, architecture and choreography. These proposals are submitted by September 27 and the shortlisting of the same begins in the second week of October.

In order to evaluate the proposals, the committee meets at least 7 times to deliberations on which tableau to select. In the first phase, the design is examined and suggestions are made for any modifications.

Once approved the participants have to present three dimensional models of the proposals. This is once again examined for final selection. The final selection is based on the visual appeal, ideas, degree of detailing, impact on the masses and also the detailing of the music.

As per the guidelines issued by the Defence Ministry, states/UTs and departments have to showcase elements relevant within the overreaching theme. For the Republic Day 2022 parade the theme given was 75 years of India's independence.

The participants are required to engage young and qualified designers from renowned institutions and must have electronic display walls. Further the ministry also has said that participants should use eco-friendly materials for the tableaux. The use of plastic is to be avoided.