Us republic day

Us republic day

Trump takes the India route to celebrating American Independence.

In a significant departure, President Donald Trump last week put his stamp on America’s Independence Day celebrations on July 4 by organising a ‘Salute to America’ gala in Washington. The event, a televised national military spectacle, was in stark contrast to the usual community based celebrations that mark the national holiday. Trump’s address – which pledged continued American primacy in the world – was interspersed with a flypast by frontline US military aircraft. Battle tanks and armoured vehicles were present at the site in a clear show of American muscle.

In fact, the Salute to America soiree was very similar to India’s Republic Day celebrations. But Americans were divided over the statist and militarised turn that their celebration of a hitherto civic festival has taken. Some criticised the cost of the whole event and asserted that July 4 is actually about celebrating American values. We see a similar debate in India. While for some the military show of might on Republic Day is inconsistent with India’s Gandhian values, others point to India’s tough neighbourhood and the need for security preparedness. China’s thrust for global supremacy has now made America feel the heat as well, with repercussions on how July 4 is celebrated.

Nonetheless, the space for criticism and dissent in America remains far bigger as exemplified by a baby Trump balloon that was also parked in the vicinity of the Salute to America event by protesters. Such differences aside, Trump pushed some more India parallels when he alluded to the American ‘army’ taking over airports from the British during the Revolutionary War; a century before humans became airborne. But we in India totally get Trump. After all, we had the vimanas way before America had B-52 bombers. MAGA, MIGA (Make India Great Again) same, same?