India will celebrate its 77th Republic Day on January 26 (Monday). Watching the annual R-Day parade is often a ritual across many Indian homes on their television screens. This year, the chief guest is the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa.Â
The theme for this year’s Republic Day parade is ‘150 Years of Vande Mataram’, highlighting the national song’s enduring role in India’s unity and memory. The tableau will feature the original manuscript and folk artists representing India’s diversity.
Shri Vivek Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, noted that Republic Day tableaux serve as moving archives of the nation’s civilisational memory, translating values and historical experiences into a shared visual language. Vande Mataram, he said, occupies a singular and enduring place.
Not just this, a group of around 2,500 artistes is set to perform on the Kartavya Path in Delhi during the parade. The theme of this performance is ‘Swatantra Ka Mantra – Vande Mataram’ and ‘Samriddhi Ka Mantra – Viksit Bharat’.Â
The creative team that has worked on it includes M M Keeravani as music director, Subhash Sehgal as lyricist, Anupam Kher as narrator and Santosh Nair as choreographer, under the overall supervision and direction of Sandhya Purecha. Sandhya Raman will handle creative design and costumes.
Keeping with the theme, enclosure backdrops along the Kartavya Path will display old paintings illustrating the opening stanzas of the national song and floral artworks at the main stage, paying homage to its composer, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Composed in 1875 by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Vande Mataram became a symbol of courage and unity during the freedom struggle. Sri Aurobindo saw it as a spiritual force capable of awakening collective consciousness.
The tableau’s central segment will showcase a performance by Gen-G, inspired by Vishnupant Pagnis’s rendition, reflecting the song’s influence during the freedom movement.
Since 2021, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has conceptualised the Ministry’s tableaux, drawing on India’s cultural roots to create themes with wide resonance.
Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA, stated that the tableau reflects the nation’s collective emotions and history, and that the 2026 theme will present the inspiring journey of Vande Mataram through artistic expression.
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