The 1924 Belgaum (now Belgavi) session of the Indian National Congress – the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi – will feature in Karnataka’s tableau that will roll down the Rajpath on the Republic Day.
The historic 39th session held on December 26 & 27 during which the Father of the Nation tried to restore unity between Hindus and Muslims will be depicted in the tableau, approved by the Defence Ministry.
The front portion of the display will be having a replica of Hampi’s Virupaksha Temple Gopura in Vijayanagar-style titled “Temple of Freedom”. A specially created railway link for the session will be represented through the model of a train that replicates the period.
The entire premise in the tableau is named after Vijayanagar. A tricolour with Charkha (Congress flag) will flutter above a statue of the Mahatma Gandhi delivering his presidential address from a raised platform surrounded by wooden frames.
The melodious tune of ‘Udayavaagali Namma Cheluva Kannada Naadu’ penned by Huilgol Narayana Rao, which heralded the birth of Karnataka, will be played in the tableau.
This was sung by Narayana Rao himself at Karnataka Unification Conference in 1924 at Belagavi.
As many as 16 states will present a slice of their heritage on the Rajpath on Saturday. In addition, there would be six tableaux from the Central government departments, including the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Agriculture and Indian Railways. This time, the Republic Day tableaux parade is themed on Mahatma Gandhi to mark his 150th birth anniversary.
The states’ tableau will begin with Sikkim followed by Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Tripura, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Gorkha Brigade
An interesting first for the parade would be the maiden attendance of the Gorkha Brigade combining all the 7 Gorkha regiments. Previously individual regiments took part in the R-Day parade, but the participation of the brigade is happening for the first time under Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, who is the president of the brigade.
Indian National Army (INA) veterans - Parmanand, Lalti Ram, Hira Singh and Bhagmal - who were part of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj will also be marching down the central boulevard on Saturday.
This is probably for the first time INA veterans have found a place in the Republic Day parade.