The 77th Republic Day Parade will foreground the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, with Kartavya Path featuring backdrop panels showcasing vintage paintings inspired by the song’s opening verses. Floral installations at the main dais will also honour its composer, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

River-named enclosures

Breaking away from convention, the usual ‘VVIP’ and other category labels will be discontinued this year. Instead, all audience enclosures have been named after Indian rivers, defence ministry officials said. The list includes Beas, Brahmaputra, Chambal, Chenab, Gandak, Ganga, Ghagra, Godavari, Sindhu, Jhelum, Kaveri, Kosi, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Pennar, Periyar, Ravi, Sone, Sutlej, Teesta, Vaigai and Yamuna.

Musical themes for beating retreat

For the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29, enclosures will carry names of traditional Indian instruments such as bansuri, damaru, ektara, esraj, mridangam, nagada, pakhawaj, santoor, sarangi, sarinda, sarod, shehnai, sitar, surbahar, tabla and veena.

European leaders as chief guests

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will serve as chief guests at the parade.

Sesquicentenary as central theme

Defence Secretary R K Singh briefed the media on the contours of this year’s celebrations, noting that the event will be anchored around the 150-year milestone of Vande Mataram. Invitation cards will feature a commemorative logo, and a cluster of balloons carrying a ‘Vande Mataram’ banner will be released at the parade’s finale.

Band performances across India

Military and CAPF bands will perform from January 19 to 26 on the Vande Mataram theme at around 235 locations in more than 120 cities. Performers will include bands from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

One of the standout venues will be Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s ancestral home at Kanthalpara, Naihati—now known as ‘Bankim Bhawan Gaveshana Kendra’.

Diverse tableaux line-up

A total of 30 tableaux — 17 from states and Union Territories and 13 from ministries and services — will roll down Kartavya Path. Assam (Ashirakandi craft village), Gujarat (Swatantrata ka Mantra: Vande Mataram), Jammu & Kashmir (handicrafts and folk dances), West Bengal (Bengal in India’s freedom movement) and Uttar Pradesh (culture of Bundelkhand) are among those participating.

Tributes through art and videos

Enclosure backdrops will feature prints of Tejendra Kumar Mitra’s 1923 artworks depicting the initial lines of Vande Mataram. Videos on the song will also play along the parade route.

Public participation and competitions

‘MyGov’ and ‘MyBharat’ hosted competitions on Vande Mataram and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, attracting 1,61,224 participants. The top 200 participants have been invited to witness the parade.

2,500 artists and 10,000 special guests

Nearly 2,500 cultural performers will take part, while about 10,000 people from various sectors have been invited as special guests, including para-athletes, natural farming practitioners, transgender persons and beneficiaries of the PM-SMILE scheme. Scientists involved in ISRO missions such as Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan, along with contributors to ‘Mann Ki Baat’, are also on the guest list.

Higher public access

To widen public participation, the number of seats and tickets has been increased. These were available through the ‘Aamantran’ portal and app, as well as offline counters including two DMRC stations.

Swachhata drive and mobile portal

A post-event Swachhata campaign will be carried out across Kartavya Path with MyBharat volunteers and NCC cadets. For easier public access to event information, tickets, seating and parking details, a unified ‘Rashtraparv Portal’ and mobile app have been launched.

PTI