No Karnataka float at Republic Day after 13 years

BENGALURU: After having showcased its culture and heritage in tableaux in 13 consecutive Republic Day parades, Karnataka has missed out on the opportunity this time.
Karnataka's proposal to showcase its millet diversity at the upcoming R-Day parade has been turned down by the Centre, according to state government officials. Consequently, there will be no representation of Karnataka at the colourful R-Day parade on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26.

Sources in the department of information and public relations told TOI Karnataka lost the tableau race at the final level. "During the first few initial rounds of assessment by the expert committee, our thematic design and music had won appreciation. However, in the last round, we lost out. Also, several other states reportedly objected and complained that they had been neglected by the committee for many years and only a few states were given an opportunity to present their tableaux," an official said.
Karnataka has previously won several awards for its tableaux while some of its other themes were widely appreciated for their creativity and colourful presentation. In 2022, Karnataka's tableau - the cradle of traditional handicrafts - was adjudged second best. The tableaux from Karnataka have largely been centred around the state's rich folklore, biodiversity, handicrafts, and cultural heritage.
In the meantime, distancing itself from controversies surrounding the selection of tableaux, the ministry of defence (MoD) revised the entire process besides streamlining the number of tableaux chosen for the parade. In 2022, states such as Kerala and Telangana had slammed the Centre for ignoring the proposals of many states. "Unlike picking individual states as per the roster, the Centre categorised the country into several zones and picked 2-3 tableaux from each zone," an MoD source said.
According to the SoP and guidelines issued by MoD for tableaux selection, a copy of which was accessed by TOI, the selection process is an elaborate and time-consuming one. The defence ministry constitutes a committee of experts chosen from various fields of the arts to shortlist the best proposals from the states and union territories.
As per the new format of selection, six zones were formed and Karnataka was placed in the southern zone along with four other states and three UTs. "Normally, 15 tableaux are chosen for the R-Day parade. Based on a proportionate formula, we picked the three best proposals from each of the zones that had eight states and two tableaux from each zone which had only four states. Priority was also given to those states and UTs that had participated the least number of times in the parade in the last eight years," the official clarified.