R-Day 2025: Tableaux theme ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’; 15 states, UTs selected

NEW DELHI: The theme for showcasing tableaux at the upcoming Republic Day Parade is ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’, and 15 states and UTs have been selected for presenting them on the Kartavya Path on January 26, the defence ministry said on Monday.

These states and UTs are — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadar Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, it said.

In addition, 11 ministries and department of the Union government have also been selected for the 2025 Republic Day celebrations, the ministry said in a statement.

“Every year states/UTs and Union government ministries/departments showcase their tableaux on Kartavya Path as part of Republic Day Celebration (RDC). For RDC-2025, the theme for tableaux has been decided as ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’,” it said.

“All the states and UTs, irrespective of their selection, for Kartavya Path, are invited to display their tableaux during Bharat Parv in Red Fort (January 26-31),” it added.

Tableaux are one of the important components of Republic Day parade. Due to time allotted for tableaux in the overall duration of parade, “shortlisting of tableaux is done by the Expert Committee”, the ministry said in a statement.

“While evaluating the tableaux, ideas presented by various states/UTs and ministries, key aspects like conceptual uniqueness and novelty, creative expression with a clear, communicable message, combining subtlety as well as directness, striking balance between ‘Virasat’ and ‘Vikas’ in each tableau, exclusion of repetitive ideas, special attention to details like colours, forms, textures, flow, rhythm, proportions and balance, ensuring a well-composed aesthetic experience of grand scale were taken into consideration for selection,” it said.

Since the beginning of this year, a “consultative process” has been adopted by the Ministry of Defence to decide on various aspects related to tableaux, the statement said.

“A meeting at senior official level was held in April 2024 to deliberate on improvement of tableaux quality. Various suggestions received during meeting have been included in the process. The theme for tableaux was also decided based on suggestions from state/UTs,” it added.

There is a “well-established system” for selection of tableaux for participation in the Republic Day parade as per which the Ministry of Defence invites proposals for tableaux from all states and UTs and central ministries and departments, the ministry said.

“The tableaux proposals received from various states/UTs and central ministries/ departments are evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee, comprising eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography etc,” the statement said.

“The entire selection process is “robust, fair, transparent, based on merit and free from any bias”, it said.

“The selected tableaux would showcase India’s diverse strengths and its constantly evolving cultural inclusiveness marching into glorious future, showcasing ‘Swarnim Bharat – Virasat aur Vikas’ to the world audience,” the ministry added. (PTI)