Pomp and pageantry marked India’s 66th Republic Day celebrations that clearly saw an imprint of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose pet schemes got showcased with special fervour as tableaux.

This year’s Republic Day parade — Modi’s first as Prime Minister — will be remembered for the special tableaux on the Jan Dhan Yojana, ‘Make in India’ scheme, Clean Ganga, Bullet Train (Railways) and Beti Bachao and Beti Padao (campaign against female foeticide), all close to Modi’s heart.

There was also a special performance by school children on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, another pet project of Modi. A school in Saket (Delhi) celebrated the success of Mangalyan, India’s Mars orbiter mission, a feather in the cap for India during Modi’s first year in office.

The two-hour parade, with US President Barack Obama as the chief guest, will also be remembered for the flypast at the end.

The flypast, which was initially doubtful due to difficult weather in the morning, involved P81 maritime reconnaissance aircraft (escorted by two MiG29 combat jets) and the Sukhoi Su 30 MKI combat jets.

Military might The parade clearly brought out a mix of India’s military might and cultural heritage besides showcasing woman power. All the three defence services — the Army, Navy and Air force — fielded all-women marching contingents.

The Border Security Force’s daredevil drivers earned a thumbs-up from none other than Obama himself.

Also on display at this year’s parade was the indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash Medium Range missile and Weapon Locating Radar (both developed by DRDO). The 25 tableaux — 16 from States and nine from various Ministries — left those assembled to watch the parade spoilt for choice.

However, a majority of non-BJP ruled States, such as Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, were among the 13 States that went unrepresented in show-casing their heritage through tableaux. The West Bengal government, in fact, was upset as its tableau, depicting the Kanya Shree initiative, was not allowed to be featured.

“We repeatedly requested...Life goes on,” tweeted Trinamool Rajya Sabha chief whip Derek O’Brien.

“We are very sad and disappointed,” he later told reporters.

Surprisingly, Rajasthan (BJP-ruled) and Punjab (ruled by BJP-Shironmani Akali Dal alliance) also were not among the States that displayed their culture.

None of the Union territories, too, made it.

Telangana debuts Of the ‘eight sisters’ from the North East, only three (Assam, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh) were represented with tableaux. Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram went unrepresented.

Telangana — the new State carved out of Andhra Pradesh — made its debut through a tableau with a theme ‘Bonaalu’ (a festival on Goddess Mahakali).

India’s 66{+t}{+h} Republic Day celebrations also saw a special doodle from Google besides Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s early morning tweet greeting the nation.

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