I-Day celebrations are boringly sarkari. Here's how to change

When we turned on the TV first thing yesterday morning, we witnessed Prime Minister Modi unfurling the Tricolour from the ageless ramparts of the Red Fort. Right under the lectern from where he addressed the nation sat the usual array of VVIPs. Protocol officers would have taken extra care to ensure that each dignitary would have been assigned a seat befitting their status in government, in defence and diplomatic circles. The extent of people’s participation in this starchy annual ritual was limited to schoolchildren and “unsung heroes” drawn from the disadvantaged classes. The only nod to novelty was an invite to youth drawn from the cadet corps of 14 countries. This we were told is a first. Frozen in time with Nehru: Every act of this set piece has been tediously choreographed and frozen in time since August 16 in 1947 when Jawaharlal Nehru set the stage. But given NDA’s recently acquired penchant for prioritising change over status quo, as made apparent from its experimentation with the Central Vista and the Beating Retreat, could it have moved away from this crusty capital-centred version of Red Fort republicanism? The incentive was certainly there. The government decreed that this 75th anniversary of the nation’s birth will be celebrated as an Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to foster in the masses a deeper emotional connect with their motherland. Surely, it’s not the government’s case that this can be achieved through the banal symbolism of changing the “DP” on our social media handles to an image of the Tiranga. Nor can it assume that Indians would feel especially moved because their government has softened the draconian provisions of the Flag Code. Had the state really wanted to capture the imagination of the public it should have contemplated a more awe-inspiring, inclusive pageantry. And shackled to the Red Fort: Perhaps the Red Fort has survived this long as a backdrop for I-day celebrations because it is synonymous with power: a Ziggurat, to be ascended to announce to the world who is in-charge. In 1857 the British marked their triumph over the “nationalists” with the barbarous massacre of innocents in the Red Fort’s palaces and many vistas. And it is easily forgotten that even at the zenith of Mughal supremacy the ruler’s gaze from the Red Fort did not extend to all corners of India. The diktats issued from its durbar never applied to all denizens of Bharat. In any case, the Diwan-e-Aam within its walls never epitomised equality. The Red Fort was always the echo chamber of the rulers. On the other hand, the once parched and now fabled indigo fields of Champaran still call out to most Indians. So does the hallowed turf of the Azad Maidan in Mumbai from where throaty calls to “Quit India” galvanised people. There are also the salt flats of Dandi where great Indians scripted their Satyagraha to jolt the edifice of British rule. Imagine the impact if PM Modi, a master of ceremony, had called attention to theatrical re-enactments of our famed trysts with resistance in those celebrated theatres. Re-booting I-day celebrations would have been a logical next step in the subaltern re-imagination of India that this government has embarked upon. But while a shift away from Red Fort republicanism would mark a welcome change, it should not be an end in itself. Wouldn’t it be fitting if the government gifted the nation on its 75th birthday a chance to imagine republicanism in all its dizzying possibilities? Imagine an azadi utsav where the state melts into the crowd: For the ‘utsav’ to truly shed its frosty sarkari prerogative, perhaps it is necessary to look beyond our shores for ideas. The world’s oldest democracy, the United States, is unquestionably the champion of packaged spectacle. The Fourth of July, when the United States of America marks its Independence Day, is about suspending formalities. The state stops directing. Uncle Sam trades the top hat for a baseball cap and starched collars for a round neck t-shirt. The state melts, as it were, into the crowd, indistinguishable from the citizenry on parade in just about every town and city. Indeed, it is difficult not to think of the “Fourth weekend” as the most anticipated break of the summer. The only frostiness found is on the outside of iced glasses raised in perpetual toasts to America. The day-long party continues to the pop of champagne and the crack and pow of fireworks well into the night, bursts often accompanied by lusty cheers of “USA, USA!” It is a public party of, and by, the people. The writer is Editor-in-Chief, Times Now