NEW DLEHI: The Ministry of Culture will present a tableau on the theme “150 Years of Vande Mataram” at the Republic Day Parade on Kartavya Path, highlighting the national song as a living symbol of India’s civilisational memory, collective consciousness and enduring cultural continuity.
The tableau traces the long and layered journey of Vande Mataram, giving it a powerful visual expression. At its forefront will be the original manuscript of the song, underscoring its historic origins and central place in India’s freedom struggle.
“At the centre of the tableau stands the present generation, represented by Gen Z, who renders Vande Mataram inspired by the historic rendition of Vishnupant Pagnis. His recording of the song in Raga Sarang, achieved by altering the sequence of verses to circumvent colonial censorship, became a significant example of artistic resistance during the freedom movement,” officials said.
Explaining the theme, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Vivek Aggarwal said that India’s Republic Day tableaux are far more than ceremonial displays; they function as moving archives of the nation’s civilisational memory.
“Year after year, they translate ideas, values, and historical experience into a shared visual language, reaffirming that culture is not an ornament of the Republic, but its sustaining spirit. Within this continuum, Vande Mataram occupies a singular and enduring place,” he said.
The official further noted that once spoken on the lips of revolutionaries and sung in prisons, meetings and processions, Vande Mataram is far more than a song.
“Sri Aurobindo perceived in it a spiritual potency capable of awakening collective consciousness, a vision that history has since affirmed. Composed in 1875 by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, the song envisioned the nation as Mother, sujalam, suphalam, abundant in nature, nurture, and inner strength. During the colonial period, it restored dignity and self-belief, transforming devotion into courage and poetry into resolve, and uniting Indians across regions, languages and faiths in a shared aspiration for freedom,” Agarwal said.
Since 2021, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been entrusted with conceptualising and executing the Ministry of Culture’s Republic Day tableau.
Over the years, IGNCA has shaped themes drawing upon India’s philosophical, historical and cultural foundations, presenting them through a visual idiom that resonates across generations.
The 2026 tableau continues this approach, situating Vande Mataram not merely as a historical composition but as a continuing source of ethical, cultural and emotional resonance.
Member Secretary, IGNCA, Dr Sachchidanand Joshi said the ministry’s tableau goes beyond representing a single department and instead reflects the collective emotions, history and national consciousness of the country.
He added that the theme for the Republic Day Parade has been finalised as “150 Years of Vande Mataram”, which will present the inspiring historical and cultural journey of the national song through artistic expression.
“As India celebrates Republic Day 2026, Vande Mataram calls upon the nation not only to remember freedom, but to remain worthy of it. Through this presentation, the Ministry seeks to reaffirm the national song as a symbol of India’s unity, cultural depth and enduring spirit,connecting the memory of the freedom struggle with the responsibilities of the present and the aspirations of the future,” ministry officials said.