Mamata Banerjee Promotes Harmony with Ekotai Sampriti Tableau at Republic Day Parade
Bengal Government's Display Highlights Religious and Communal Harmony Amidst Ayodhya's Ram Temple Dedication
In the aftermath of the Ram temple's dedication in Ayodhya, Mamata Banerjee's effort to oppose the Sangh parivar's Hindutva pitch was evident in the Bengal government's tableau, Ekotai Sampriti (unity is harmony), which participated in the Republic Day parade on Red Road here on Friday.
Photographs of the temples of several faiths adorned the tableau.
According to a state government source, "the government is not new to sending across the message of religious and communal harmony, but this time, the tableau was given priority and displayed attractively as part of the Republic Day march."
The tagline "religion is personal, festival is universal"—dharma jar jar, utsav sabar—was the tableau's central idea. Mamata has used this phrase many times to explain her interpretation of secularism in relation to the dedication of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
On January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the temple in Ayodhya.
The department of communication and cultural affairs put up a vibrant tableau that showed how peacefully people of various faiths coexist in Bengal and around the nation. Eight men and women from various religious backgrounds danced under an Ekata Briksha (tree of oneness) on the tableau to the song "Sare jahan se achha, Hindustan humara."
Mamata said on social media that the nation always remained "one" in spite of difficulties, having attended the Republic Day festivities on Red Road.
"I am really proud of India today as we celebrate the 75th Republic Day of India. Our country remains ONE despite the difficulties it has faced for 75 long years," the woman said on Facebook.
"India's constitution, which was painstakingly drafted by our ancestors, instills the timeless values of democracy, justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity in our nation," she said.
