No Punjab tableau at R-Day parade

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 27

Punjab remained unrepresented at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi for the third consecutive year this time. There was no tableau to showcase the state’s culture or achievement in the last 12 months, at the national function yesterday.

While the state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was conferred Padma Vibhushan, the missing symbols of culture left a bad taste.

Of the 16 states that made to the parade, most were ruled independently by the BJP, which leads the NDA government at the Centre.

A majority of the non-BJP-ruled states such as Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, were among the 13 states whose tableaux were not seen at the parade.

Haryana, where the BJP formed the government for the first time, got representation after seven years at the Republic Day parade. Punjab represented in 2008 and later in 2011.

Haryana’s tableau at the parade showcased its wetlands of Sultanpur and Bhindawas, which are not recognised on the international level like the Harike, Kanjli and Ropar wetlands of Punjab. The Punjab wetlands were also included in the Ramsar world convention on wetlands.

Notably, the themes which had been submitted by the Punjab Government for representation this time included migratory birds/bird sanctuary, Baba Farid and Baisakhi. Director-Public Relations, Rahul Tiwari, whose department oversees the tableau project, said the process took place before he assumed charge. “The Union Government doesn’t select tableaux of all states. Only 16 were selected this time. We will try our best to get selected next year.”

Khraiti Sharma, Production Artist-Tableau, who handles the project, said as only 16 states are selected, some had to miss out. “Not much should be read into the missing tableau. It is not that our design or theme was not up to the mark. We attended the meetings where the sketches for tableaux were presented by different states...

“Our theme on Harike and Baba Farid was liked and we were told to prepare a model on Baba Farid. We prepared his ten feet tall cut-out, his tomb and a tree with a beehive to show his teachings in the form of honey dipping from the hive. However, we were not invited to show the model.”

He said it is not unusual to miss the parade. “The Union Territory of Chandigarh got representation after 14 years in the last Republic Day. This time no Union Territory got the chance.”