Watch: Dubai school recreates Delhi-style Indian Republic Day parade with 7,000 students

Dubai: A Dubai school on Monday pulled off a miniature replica of New Delhi’s iconic Republic Day cultural parade, with even more participants than the original event in the Indian capital.

The Indian High Group of Schools brought together 7,000 students at its Oud Metha campus on January 26, 2026, exceeding the 2,500 artists who performed at Delhi’s famed Kartavya Path parade.

The ambitious recreation featured everything that made India’s 77th Republic Day special: cultural performances, traditional dances, musical tributes, and elaborate tableaux on wheels, all crafted in-house by students and staff.

“This year, themes like Vande Mataram and Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) were woven into the programme,” said Punit MK Vasu, CEO of the Indian High Group of Schools, in an excsluvie interview with Gulf News.

The theme followed India’s journey from a patriotic awakening to self-reliance, commemorating 150 years of the iconic National Song, Vande Mataram (‘Mother, I Bow to Thee’), written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875.

Vasu said the effort spanned all three IHS Group campuses, involving extensive coordination to stage the show for 15,000 guests.

Pulling off a Delhi-style parade in Dubai required months of preparation, beginning immediately after the summer holidays. Once the Government of India announced the official theme, teams coordinated choreography, music, tableaux, and stage design.

Rehearsals intensified in January, with daily practice sessions. “It’s all about coordination — syncing with music, sound systems, stage movement, and timing. There’s practice, practice, and more practice,” Vasu said.

Students from primary grades to senior school participated, excluding Classes 10 and 12 due to board exams. Consul General of India in Dubai, Satish Kumar Sivan, inaugurated the festivities, hoisting the Indian Tricolour alongside students, staff, and families.

The highlight was six elaborate tableaux mirroring Delhi’s parade format.

Vasu said all of them were created in-house by the school’s art faculty, support staff and student volunteers.

“Outsourcing would have been prohibitively expensive, so most of the work was done internally,” he explained.

The moving exhibits showcased India’s diversity. “One Nation, Many Rhythms” featured classical dance and music; “Vigyan Se Viksit Bharat” highlighted scientific achievements, from space missions to artificial intelligence; and “Bhasha Bharati” celebrated India’s 22 scheduled languages through a three-dimensional book and language tree.

Monument-themed displays featured the Jatayu Earth Centre, the Taj Mahal, and the Red Fort, while another tableau depicted India’s seasons as expressions of the nation’s spirit.

The sixth tableau, “Dil Se… Namaste, Emirates,” (A heartfelt hello to the UAE) celebrated India-UAE friendship, highlighting collaboration in technology, trade, and humanitarian efforts.

This uniquely Dubai addition to the Delhi-inspired format also showcased the camaraderie between two elderly Indian and Emirati couples to reflect the UAE’s Year of Family, while other elements put the spotlight on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and strategic ties between the two nations.

For the first time, the celebration expanded beyond students to include parents, teachers, and non-teaching staff in the parade.

“We wanted it to reflect a sense of family in this Year of Family. Everyone who contributes to the school is part of this celebration. We had our Emirati team also participating in the parade,” Vasu added.

The celebration reinforced the UAE’s status as home to over 4.3 million Indian expats, the highest number of Indian passport holders overseas, making Republic Day festivities here among the largest outside India.