Rejected from Rajpath show, TN’s tableau to parade Marina on R-Day
The tableau from Tamil Nadu which couldn’t make it to the shortlist for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, will now be exhibited at the parade organised by the state government in Chennai on January 26.
In a statement, Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the tableau will also be put up for exhibition in major cities of the state. This apart, exhibitions similar to the recent one conducted in Chennai on ‘Tamil Nadu’s participation in freedom struggle’ to commemorate India’s 75th Independence Day, will also be organised in other parts of the state, the chief minister said.
“Tamil Nadu’s contribution to the 250 years of India’s freedom struggle is not in any way less compared to the other states. Even before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, we had the Vellore Revolution (July 10, 1806),” Stalin said in the statement.
The state had pitched seven designs, all of which included figurines of prominent freedom fighters such as VO Chidambaram, the first Tamil helmsman; Subramaniya Bharati, the poet; Sivaganga Queen Velu Nachiyar and the Maruthu Brothers.
“Even before Jhansi’s Rani opposed the British, the brave queen of Sivaganga Velu Nachiyar fought against them. Similarly, Maruthu Brothers along with Pulithevan, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Veeran Sundaralingam and Theeran Chinnamalai fought the British. Also we had VO Chidambaram, the famous freedom fighter who founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company to compete against the British,” the statement read.
The state is commemorating the death centenary of Bharati and the 150th birth anniversary of Chidambaram this year.
Outrage over rejection of state’s tableau
The state government has issued the statement following the rejection of its tableau’s by an expert committee on January 17. While the rejection created commotion in the state, Stalin immediately shot a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi the same day.
In his letter, the chief minister said that the representatives of the state had appeared before the expert committee thrice for the selection of the tableau.
“In the first meeting, the expert committee expressed satisfaction about the state’s theme ‘Tamil Nadu in the freedom struggle’. The design had the pantheon of freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu during the British Raj at the front of the tableau and those during the rule of the East India Company at the back,” he said.
He added that the exclusion of the tableau from Tamil Nadu will deeply hurt the sentiments and patriotic feelings of the people of the state.
“That the committee chooses to ignore and reject all the seven designs shown to it as per the modifications suggested by its members is unacceptable. I am given to understand that Tamil Nadu was not called for the fourth round of meeting and it was informed that the state has been left out while shortlisting tableaux,” Stalin added.
Replying to Stalin’s letter, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that it is the expert committee which takes a final call on accepting a tableau for the parade after examining its theme, concept, design and visual impact. The committee also shortlists tableaux keeping in mind the entire time slot allowed for display during the Republic Day parade.
“The tableau from the state was considered in the first three rounds of meetings. After the third round of meeting, the tableau could not make it into the final list of 12 tableaux selected for participation in the RDP-2022,” Singh said. The committee has received 29 proposals from the states and union territories.
He also added that the tableaux from the state were accepted in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
