It speaks volumes that two of the most important days in the political calendar of modern India – namely Independence Day and Republic Day – are marked by mere sarkari ceremonies. On August 15 school children are brought in as audiences under the hot sun or pouring rain to be passive audiences at the PM’s speech to the nation. On 26 January, the sarkari function is a long spectacle with armed forces followed by school children going down Rajpath in a grand parade peppered with colorful floats of each state. However, for all its grandeur, the Republic Day is without any participatory role for the public. (See my article: Some Thoughts on India's Republic Day --Republic Day Celebrations without the Public ) The same pattern is repeated on a lower scale in all state capitals.
For
the average citizen, both these days are just two more official holidays – though
more quiet and relaxing than most because even the bazaars are compulsorily
shut down.
However,
Narendra Modi changed all that in the
second year of his term as chief
minister of Gujarat. From 2003 onwards he converted these two deadpan official
functions as well as the May 1st, Gujarat founding day celebrations
into people’s festivals with the government of course playing a leading
creative role. The first major change it
involved was to shift these functions away from the state capital into the
various districts of the state. In 2003, he announced that henceforth the focus
of celebrations on January 26, May 1st and August 15 would not be
only in the state capital as is the practice in all the states of India. Each of these major functions would be
celebrated in a different district of Gujarat. This didn’t mean simply
replicating the standard official function in some district headquarter. It meant a whole new orientation. The function was not only made participatory
but the occasion began to be used to give that particular district a total
facelift and a new pride in its own unique history regional culture as well as
the past and present accomplishment of its people.
When
Modi first announced that the locale for the 2003 Independence Day celebrations
would be the ancient historic town of Patan, Gujarat Congressmen protested vehemently. They even held black flag demonstrations and organized
their own parallel function as a matter of protest. The Gujarat media too gave big mileage to
these protests and made it out as if this was some kind of mad Tuglaqi move
of NaMo. They held similar protests for
the Republic Day and Gujarat Founding Day celebrations in district towns. But
these protests dwindled in size and significance as these regional functions
became more and more popular and evoked an enthusiastic response for the
following reasons:
1)
Whichever
district got selected for hosting the Republic Day, the Gujarat Day or
Independence Day celebrations, was simultaneously expected to prepare well in
advance a whole list of small and big development projects for the area. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the district
prepared this list by consulting local panchayats and municipal
corporations. DCs were also encouraged
to come up with their dream projects for the area that involved innovation and had
the potential to infuse new life into the district. These projects ranged from minor things like
a new bus terminal in a hitherto poorly connected place, water harvesting
structures, a new Industrial Training Instituteor new hospital, new hostel or connecting
government schools to e-learning or a major river front development project
with new recreational and commercial complexes built into it. The budgets for these were also sanctioned
with speed well in advance and each DC made to deliver those projects within
the given time frame. The budget
typically ran into Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 crores depending on the size and requirements
of the district.
2)
Fifteen
days before the scheduled event all the Cabinet ministers were made to tour the
district not just to oversee the satisfactory completion of commissioned
projects but to inaugurate those falling within their ministry’s domain. A day before the event the chief minister
arrived in the district and inaugurated some of the major projects. Thus in one go the selected district would
witness major uplift in civic infra-structure and new educational and health
facilities leading to all round development in a time bound manner.
3)
The
local government in each instance was also mandated to launch a major
cleanliness drive for the entire district with the aim of making it garbage
free. This included setting up the required municipal systems for garbage
management. Modi made it a point to
communicate to people of the district in his public speech that from then on it
was their job to maintain high level of hygiene and cleanliness in their
district. The district headquarter in
particular underwent major sprucing up. On
the eve of the big day, the district headquarter would also be lit up and
decorated to make key segments of the town carry a festive look. Its impact on society at large can be gauged
from the fact that many commercial establishments as well as private homes
joined the celebration by lighting up their respective buildings.
4) On the eve of Republic Day,
Gujarat Day and Independence Day a major cultural program began to be organized
in the district headquarters. Typically 30,000
to 50,000 persons attend the meticulously arranged cultural program also attended
by the chief minister. Almost everyone is provided proper chairs even though
the scale is mammoth. World class
audio-visual arrangements are made so that even with a giant gathering, there
is no disorder and no chaos and the program is seen and heard by the last
person in the last row. I attended two
such programs (Republic Day 2013 in Bhuj and Independence Day 2013 in
Banaskantha). The discipline and orderly arrangements in both were
awe-inspiring.
The
unique thing about this two hour cultural program is that it is neither a
Bollywood song and dance bonanza as is becoming common in India these days in
the name of cultural programs, nor is it marked by amateurish performances as
is common in small towns of India. The
artists are always local but they are given proper professional training even
though many may be performing for the first time. The two functions I attended involved an
elaborate high tech-audio-visual dance drama that enacted the history of Bhuj
and Banaskantha districts respectively. They were both conceptualized and
directed by known Gujarati writers with Gujarat Government’s Secretary of Info
and Culture Bhagyesh Jha, himself a known poet and writer, playing a key role
in formulating the script and artistic inputs.
Both these docu-dramas provided a scintillating crash course in the
socio-political and cultural history of that district from times immemorial to
the present day. Both provided gripping performances that included hi-tech
audio-visual inputs, regional music, dance, poetry and dramatic narrative
through selecting key revealing moments in the history of the area. Both had world-class sound and light
effects. Both used local artists from
within the district.
Another
major highlight of the evening bonanza is that, NaMo set the tradition of
honoring local heroes – be they educationists, artists, writers, medical
professionals or dedicated social workers selected through a transparent
process. This too generates a great deal
of public enthusiasm in the entire district.
But
the biggest star of the show would be NaMo himself who would deliver a public
address exhorting people to take pride in their region along with other
social-political messages.
Thus
the entire focus of the Republic Day Gujarat Day and Independence Day eve
programs is to enhance the self esteem of that region and get familiarized with
their own unique history and culture – not just celebrate being Indian or being
Gujarati but also celebrate their own micro regional cultural identity. By combining folklore, mythology with
cultural and political history, these programs encourage young people to value
the study of their past and celebrate their local heroes. However, they have meaning for the rest of
Gujarat as well. Through these programs,
each region of the state gets to better understand and appreciate other regions
of the state.
The
next day the celebrations are more official – the usual parade or flag hoisting
and a formal address of the chief minister to the people of his state.
It
is fortunate that Anandiben Patel, the new chief minister of the state has
decided to keep alive this tradition with equal aplomb.
This
time Narendra Modi has not had time to refashion the Independence Day
celebration into a people’s festival as he did in Gujarat because he has had no
breathing space from the day of his swearing-in on May 26, 2014. The main change that one witnessed this time
in Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort was that space for over 30,000 ordinary
citizens had been provided to witness the Prime Minister’s address to the
nation from the ramparts of Lal Quila.
But this is too little going by NaMo’s penchant for bringing about major
tectonic shifts in the way things are done in government. I hope by the time of the coming Republic Day,
he has acquired enough grip over governance in Delhi to make 26 January 2014
the most historic Republic Day in Post-independence India.
Reposted on January 26, 2015
Reposted on January 26, 2015
Nice article madam. Got an real insight in to the happenings of the events. Those events are praise worthy and so is this article too. But a small correction, I think it should be republic day on 26 jan 2015 and not 2014 as mentioned towards the end of your blog.
ReplyDeleteGood article Madhuji. I never paid attention to this before.
ReplyDeleteWHO DOES'NT HAVE FAULTS .EVERY ONE HAS FAULTS .IF YOU TALLY FAULTS THEN THERE ARE MANY MANY OTHER LEADERS OF OTHER PARTIES WHO'S FAULTS ARE WAY MORE BITTER THAN ANY OF MODI'S . PEOPLE WILL PRAISE MODI FOR HIS PAST FAULTS ONE DAY REALIZING THAT THEY WERE NOT FAULTS BUT STEPS TO SAVE INDIA FROM BIGGER DOOM. FOR EXAMPLE IF ISHRAT JAHAN AND PARTY WERE NOT ENCOUNTERED THAN WE WOULD HAVE SEEN RED AND BUTCHERED INDIA BY THE HANDS OF ANTI NATIONAL RADICALS , AND YOU MEDIA HOUSES LIKE TO BLAME IT A MODI'S FAULT .....UNGRATEFUL INDIANS OF MEDIA & JOURNALISM YOU ARE BREATHING AND ALIVE BECAUSE OF MODI TODAY A MAN WHO TOOK LIFE TIME WORTH OF CRITICISM AND ISOLATION TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE AND COUNTRY FROM ANTI NATIONAL ELEMENT THRIVING UNDER THE PROTECTION AND PARALYSIS OF USELESS SECULARISM.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReal eye opener. I hope this is replicated for all sarkari functions so that face of every nook and corner of this great Country gets a face lift, so far neglected by the political class.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete