Republic Day

Most of us have a vague idea that the celebration of the Republic Day has something to do with India becoming a republic but do you know what is a republic and what is so special about 26 January that India chose this date for being one?

A republic is an area or nation which is free to choose its own laws and government. Today India is a republic but this was not always the case. Under the British (who ruled over virtually the whole of India from 1857 till 1947) Indians were not free to make decisions regarding their government. At first, Indians tried to reason with the Britishers, hoping to convince the rulers about the "rightness'' of their demands but when this didn't work, they slowly but surely realised that only an Indian government would be really concerned about looking after the well-being of the Indian people.

Did you know? The desire for an Indian republic was first voiced on a national level at the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress on the midnight of December 31, 1929 (i.e. just in the beginning of 1930). On this day, the Indian Tri-Colour flag was unfurled by the nationalists who vowed to struggle for making India a Sovereign Democratic Republic. Those present in the meeting took a pledge to mark January 26 as "Independence Day" to remind themselves of their pledge to struggle towards realising this dream. The Indian Constituent Assembly first met on December 9, 1946. The Assembly wanted to give India a constitution which would serve a lasting purpose and hence appointed a number of committees to thoroughly research the various aspects of the proposed constitution. The recommendations were discussed, debated and revised many times before the Indian Constitution was finalised and adopted three years later on November 26, 1949.

After a long struggle for freedom, India finally won its freedom from the British rule in 1947. The Britishers officially left India on 15th August 1947 (that is why this day is celebrated as Independence Day) and India became a free country.

However India was still not a republic as it did not have a constitution (a popularly accepted set of rules according to which the country is governed). The Indian constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949 but it came into affect on 26 January 1950. The date was chosen to honour the pledge taken many moons ago by Fundu Fact With 395 Articles and eight Schedules, the Indian Constitution is the largest written constitution in the world. the member of the Indian National Congress. With this gesture, Republic Day became the most important day in the history of free India. Indeed, India had become a geographical entity on August 15, 1947, but it was on January 26, 1950 that it became a nation in the true sense, with a constitution and elected representatives of the people.