Republic Day has been celebrated every year in India on January 26, since 1950 to honor the Date on which the Constitution of India came into force.
India was a colony of the British for over 200 years and became independent from the rule of the British Raj following the Indian independence movement whereas India got free from British on August 15, 1947 but it still didn’t have a permanent constitution, and Indian laws were based on a modified version of the British established, Government of India Act 1935.
However, two weeks later a Drafting Committee was appointed for the drafting of a permanent Indian Constitution, with Dr B R Ambedkar as chairman. After a lot of hard work, the Constitution was finally drafted, and January 26 was chosen as the day to declare India as the Sovereign Republic.
The importance of January 26 is that the Indian National Congress made Purna Swaraj as opposed to British rule.
And though the Constitution came into force in 1950 with a democratic government system, it was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949.
The draft of the constitution was submitted to the Indian Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1947. Over the course of 166 days, that were spread over two years, the 308 members of the Assembly met in sessions that were open to the public and made some modifications.
Finally, on January 24, 1950, the Assembly members signed two handwritten copies of the Constitution, one in English and one in Hindi. And two days later history was made. On that day began Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s first term of office as President of the Indian Union.
And now it is celebrated across India with a lot of fervor. In Delhi, at Raj path magnificent parades by regiments of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, police and paramilitary forces march and there is also a display India’s defense prowess is on display with latest missiles, aircraft, and weapon systems.
There are also sky shows by the Air Force. India will be celebrating its 72nd Republic Day this year.
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