Guwahati: The Union Ministry of Defence has rejected Assam’s tableau for the 2019 Republic Day parade for ‘misinterpretation of the theme’.

According to reports, the Ministry of Defence has taken a decision to adopt tableaux of themes relating to Mahatma Gandhi for the Republic Day parade in 2019 to mark his 150th birth anniversary.

The Assam state directorate of cultural affairs has chosen the theme because Gandhi visited Assam’s textile hub at Sualkuchi, also known as the Manchester of the East.

Gandhi, during his visit to Sualkuchi – about 35-km from Assam’s capital city Guwahati in January 1946 –said, “The women of Assam can weave dreams.”

Gandhi had spent several hours watching the weavers at their looms at Sualkuchi.

The tableau of Assam for the Republic day has been named as Mahatma Gandhi at the Manchester of East – Sualkuchi.

The state directorate of cultural affairs had prepared the tableau and sent it for approval.

But, the Ministry of Defence has rejected the tableau for the authorities not being able to display the theme due to some technical glitches.

A top official of the state directorate of cultural affairs said that three rounds of the meeting of the defence ministry were held for selection of the tableaux, but it was not selected due to some technical faults.

Assam cultural affairs minister Naba Kumar Doley said that there are some technical problems in the tableaux.

“We were asked to depict a theme related to Mahatma Gandhi. Accordingly, we have depicted Gandhiji’s visit to Sualkuchi. Even as the third round for the selection of tableaux is going on today, our tableau is yet to be approved by the ministry. It happens that when there are technical problems in tableaux, they are given nod by bringing some changes. We still keep our hopes alive for the approval of our tableaux,” the Assam minister said.

It is to be mentioned that Assam’s tableau on traditional masks of the satras in the state had won the second prize in last year’s Republic Day parade at the Rajpath in New Delhi.