Explained: How are Republic Day parade tableaux designed and selected?

The defence ministry provides each participant with one tractor and one trailer, and the tableau should fit on that

At least three Opposition-ruled states are up in arms about the rejection of their tableaux for this year’s Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. The most incensed is Kerala whose tableau has been rejected for the third time in a row.

The fact is that the selection of a state tableau for the R-Day parade is an exhaustive (and exhausting, for those involved) exercise that begins in September of the previous year. A theme is selected by July and for 2022, the states were sent identical letters. Here is the anatomy of the process.

Tableaux guidelines

As the organisation and rollout of the Republic