It is unfortunate that controversies have arisen over the rejection of some tableaux proposed by three states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal -- for inclusion in the Republic Day parade. The rejections have gained a political dimension because the three states are ruled by Opposition parties, and the state governments have criticised the rejection as wrong and unfair. The central government has replied to the criticism through statements from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It has been explained that the decisions on the tableaux are taken not by the government but by an expert committee of eminent persons from the fields of art and culture, based on objective criteria. The states were criticised for projecting their exclusion as an insult and setting a wrong precedent that would “go a long way in harming the country's federal structure”.
But the circumstances of the exclusion, which have come out in the public realm, indicate that the states have reasons for their grouse. All of them had made proposals based on themes that are relevant and would appeal to the nation. Kerala had proposed a float depicting a statue of social reformer Narayana Guru and some alternative ideas, including an iconic Jatayu statue in the state. But the Kerala government was reportedly told to depict Adi Shankaracharya in place of Narayana Guru or to add a temple to the Jatayu statue. Kerala did not accept these ideas. Its tableau was rejected. The West Bengal tableau was in commemoration of Subhas Chandra Bose, whose 125th birth anniversary falls next week. Tamil Nadu’s proposal highlighted freedom fighters from the state, including poet Bharathiyar, and the state was certain that it was relevant in the Republic Day parade.
If the committee took its decisions independently of the government on the basis of objective criteria, they need to be made clear. Why did it suggest depiction of Shankaracharya and a temple in the Kerala tableau? Shankaracharya was a great saint, but why should Narayana Guru, who campaigned against the caste system, be removed for him? The Bengal tableau was rejected because there was reportedly another tableau that also depicted Bose. But the Bengal tableau depicted other freedom fighters, too. The Tamil Nadu government has said that its tableau was rejected despite it making the changes suggested to it by the committee. The Chief Ministers have protested to the Prime Minister. When the reasons for rejection are not clear, it is natural that it would create suspicions of discrimination, especially in the present atmosphere of distrust. When constitutional institutions do not function independently, how will a committee appointed by the government be trusted to work fairly and independently?