No Bengal tableau at coming R-Day parade

Pritesh Basu | MP | 212 Dec 2017 | Kolkata: A Republic Day tableau for every Indian is a unique sight when millions are glued to their television sets, hoping to see their state being represented at the Rajpath, portraying an awe-inspiring show, not only highlighting a particular region with well-crafted solemnity but also delivering a message of Unity in Diversity. But unfortunately for Bengal, there will be no tableau at the Republic Day Parade in 2018 in Delhi. 

Even though the state government is yet to receive a final communication regarding the same, officials are contemplating that Bengal's tableau will not be a part of the 2018 parade as they have not received any invitation yet to attend the last meeting held in early December in this connection. It has been a convention that a letter seeking concerned officials to attend a meeting after clearing the prior level is sent to the state government. But in this case, no such letter has reached the officials.

There is an expert committee of the Ministry of Defence that clears the tableaus that the states propose to display during the Republic Day Parade after going through all the details. The committee goes through the sketches, models and all other aspects of the tableau. According to Nabanna sources, this year too the tableau that the state government had proposed to display had cleared most of the levels. But after that, they received no communication instructing them to attend the meeting to get clearance to the next level. 

"It is a convention that we receive a letter to attend the meeting for the next level after clearance. But we haven't received anything as such and got to know that the meeting has already been held in the first week of December," said an official in the state Secretariat. 

It may be mentioned that this is the first time after 2015 when Bengal's tableau will not be present during the Republic Day Parade and this comes at the time when the tableaus from Bengal had won the award for being the best one in 2014 and 2016 respectively. In 2017, the theme for the tableau was Sharod Utsav. For 2018, the proposed theme was Ekatai Sampriti (Unity is Harmony). 

In 2015, Bengal's tableau on Kanyashree was "not allowed". Trinamool Rajya Sabha chief whip Derek O'Brien had then tweeted: "Bengal tableaux for Republic Day, depicting path-breaking 'Kanyashree' initiative, was not allowed. We repeatedly requested...Life goes on."