India is a land of diversity and culture. There are several holidays which are celebrated over the span of the entire nation in order to celebrate its uniqueness. Several years ago, we had won our freedom back from the British colonists. This has marked an important part of our history and we aim to celebrate our sovereignty from the British rules through the national holidays.
The three national holidays which are celebrated in India are Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti. All of these have significant roles to play in the struggle for our freedom. With Republic day approaching, let us get to know a bit about the history and the way this day came to be celebrated.
The History Of Republic Day
India will be marking the 74th Republic Day on the 26th of January 2023. This day is celebrated with a huge grandeur and several delegates from different countries come up to India in order to observe this mass event. It is indeed one of the happiest days in Indian history when the republic was declared on 26th March 1950. After 2 years of gaining independence from the Britishers, the country was able to draw up a constitution and declare itself to be a republic in all states and forms.
The president plays an important role on Republic day. This time, President Draupadi Murmu will be unfurling the flag. This event will take place on the recently unveiled Kartavya Path. This is the place where the grand parade will be held this year. A parade is indeed a spectacular event for the Indians. All people from different parts of the country come along to celebrate this day together.
Every year, millions of people from different parts of the nation celebrate the rich traditions and culture of India. The spectacular progress of Indian businesses and technology is shown in this grand parade. The great parade of Republic day is also visited by people from foreign countries in order to envision the great glory of this nation. It is indeed a matter of wonder the way the nation first celebrated its republic day in 1950. Let us get to know about this!
Republic Day has been marked in Indian history as the first day which had implemented the Constitution of the nation. This was done for the first time on 26th January 1950. Indians attained freedom from the British ruler on August 15, 1947. The constitution of India took some time to draw up and this was done by keeping in mind the notions of the country and the way it could be run peacefully. The constitution came into effect and India was declared to be a sovereign and a republic state.
Dominion Status Challenged
26th January was chosen as Republic Day because this was the day when the Indian National Congress declared the term ‘Purna Swaraj’. The British regime had been taking on the nation quite hard till that day when the INC opposed the dominion in 1929. This was the changing point in the Indian independence movement. In 1934, MN Roy initiated a move which had said that India should develop a form of constitution which would rule the nation in future. This also led to the formation of a constituent assembly. This was a great step to think that India will be gaining freedom soon and the constitution will be formed in order to prevail over law and order.
The British government accepted the document for the constitution in 1940. This was the time when BR Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of the drafting committee. He was appointed as the chief person who would draft the constitution. The constitution was adopted by the assembly on November 26, 1949. This day came to be known as constitution day in Indian history. This day also holds a special significance because it speaks about the true intention of a nation to be completely free from shackles.
Time Taken To Draft The Indian Constitution
Under the supervision of Dr BR Ambedkar, a total of 2 years, 11 months, and 17 days were taken in order to form the Indian constitution. The drafting period which was shown during this time included more than 11 sessions. These were held for more than 165 days and this had been a great success. The Indian constitution is extremely developed and it covers almost all kinds of spheres that might be required to run the nation!
The First Day Of Celebration
The first republic day which was celebrated by India was under a great deal of preparation. The preparations started days ago and at that time, Dr Rajendra Prasad was selected as the President. He was sworn in as the President on this day and the greatest procession of Indians was first witnessed in Delhi, the national capital.
The event was accompanied by beating drums and blowing conch shells and singing patriotic songs. This tradition never lost its true essence over the last 74 years. Similar events were also celebrated all over the nation. After two years of gaining independence, India was finally called a sovereign, democratic, republic state. This was paired with a parliamentary form of democratic government.
Few Final Words
Republic day is celebrated on 26th January all throughout the nation. This is a great day for the entire nation and it is essential that this day is celebrated in its true essence. It is also essential that we remember the day and its significance as well!