Pageants, not parades

Funny, isn’t it, that we should do so to celebrate the institutionalisation of the unquestionable supremacy of our elected, civilian authority? No one in this country ever questions the fact of the president being the supreme commander of the armed forces. If necessary, we can be reminded of that fact at another, equally spectacular military parade on another occasion, the armed forces day, or some sort of an annual victory day, like the anniversary of the Pakistani surrender in Dhaka. This will at least be a genuine cause for a military display than Pakistan’s farcical Defence of Pakistan Day (September 6), when they are supposed to have won the 1965 war against India within 72 hours! Whether the idea is to remind our neighbours of our military might, or to underline the pre-eminence of civilian power, that would be a lot more appropriate than confusing old, colourful and very British military tradition with the ushering in of our federal Constitution.

I am not a historian, but I called a few to find out from where this idea came into the heads of our founding fathers. No one seems to have a precise answer (if someone does, please e-mail it to me at Shekhargupta@expressindia.com and we will publish it forthwith). But it is tempting to assume that this was one of the things that impressed Nehru during his socialist years. He had visited the Soviet Union in 1927 and then, following in the example of the Red Square parade, the Chinese had their own at Tiananmen immediately as Mao consolidated his hold over power. As with public sector, cooperative farming and so on, this was probably another socialist idea that caught Nehru’s fancy. There are some references that the idea of the parade was discussed between Nehru and his legendary defence minister Sardar Baldev Singh. But the first Republic Day was a more modest affair, a celebration in National Stadium, near India Gate. The larger parade came up in 1952 and even then, to be fair to Nehru, he kept the tone andthe ambience celebratory. The grimness emerged in later decades, possibly because we fought three wars in quick succession and, in the absence of a separate armed forces day, the Republic Day became a convenient substitute.

Republic Day and Independence Day, even Gandhi Jayanti, are truly significant national occasions and must be celebrated as widely as possible. In a country like ours, with its cultural, religious and regional diversities, the need for truly national, secular festivals cannot be overstated. Even a much less diverse country like the US has cleverly created its own secular festivals, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Labour Day, all built around its national shop-till-you-drop culture. So these are celebrated mostly in the form of nationwide discount sales in shopping malls. The US independence day (July 4), on the other hand, is a more fun occasion, with the government doing little more than burst some fireworks at dusk. The rest is left to the people, towns and counties that hold their own celebrations, even so-called parades, that are more pageants in form and spirit.

We, on the other hand, have redefined national festivals as occasions, either for a show of state power (Republic Day) or for when the sarkar speaks to its praja (prime minister, on Independence Day). What is missing, most of all, is public participation. The only special privilege people like you and me are allowed on these days is the right to display our national flag! The rest is such a formal official show that unless you are well-connected in government circles and cadge a pass, you have to buy a ticket to witness the Republic Day parade. This, for your own national day, is truly unfair.

Fifty years after the founding of the republic, we should have the courage to question these practices, and the confidence to think and believe that such official extravaganza is no longer required to build national spirit. That can be done better by encouraging another tradition, of people celebrating these occasions amongst themselves, as secular, national festivals, visiting monuments, museums, mausoleums to pay homage to great men who built their republic as well as the soldiers who laid down their lives preserving it. India Gate, our most important war memorial, itself could be a venue for a more solemn, informal ceremony to pay homage to the Unknown Soldier. In the US, people even visit the Vietnam War memorial in thousands. Here, muck lies all around even Gandhi Samadhi unless someone spruces it up for a foreign dignitary’s visit.

A mature republic does not need the reassurance of a trailer-mounted Prithvi on its Republic Day. Military parades are great, they are also inspirational. But leave them to the armies and suitable military occasions. Yes, the president and the prime minister should deliver their message to the nation on these days. But why not leave the celebrations to the people who’d be happier displaying the flag on their rooftops rather than watching the big shots do it on television, while their cities are under siege because of terrorist threats and VIP movements.

Military parade as demonstration of state power is very much a communist, even Stalinist, notion. No other mature, self-confident democracy stages one.

We should have the courage to question these practices, and the confidence to believe that such official extravaganza is no longer required to build national spirit