Logistics challenge posed by ASEAN summit: From time to Republic-Day tableau

Describing the frenetic pace of activities, MEA secretary (east) Preeti Saran said, “We were like ducks, seemingly calm on the outside, but swimming furiously underneath the water.”

The ASEAN Tableau at the Republic Day Parade in the capital New Delhi on Friday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

From personalised pillow covers for all ASEAN leaders with their names etched on them to hotel keys with country’s flags, shawls for every ASEAN leader and their spouse, heaters on the main stage on Rajpath, and the timely arrival of all 10 leaders at the parade’s commencement — the government pulled off a massive logistical exercise as it hosted 10 leaders for India-ASEAN commemorative summit.

Describing the frenetic pace of activities, MEA secretary (east) Preeti Saran said, “We were like ducks, seemingly calm on the outside, but swimming furiously underneath the water.”

The ASEAN leaders were staying in five hotels, and to get them “on time”, Chief of Protocol Sanjay Verma told them that about 600 million Indians would be watching the Republic Day parade live on television, and in the past 70 years, the parade has never started late.” That worked, as all the leaders came on time and the parade started at 10 am — with Brunei’s Sultan coming at the end — since he, as the King, outranks all.

Officials said that while the initial plan was to have a marching contingent from ASEAN, the idea was shot down since the marching styles were different. They settled for the ASEAN tableau with a boat, capturing maritime links between India and the ASEAN countries, and a model of Nalanda University.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram