The Republic Day of India is celebrated every year, on January 26, to commemorate the adoption of India's constitution.


Republic Day of India

The Republic Day is one of three national festivals of India and is celebrated every year, on January 26, to commemorate the adoption of nation's constitution. India became independent on August 15, 1947 from British Empire but its constitution came into force on January 26, 1950. The constitution assembly under the leadership of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar took two years eleven months and eighteen days to make country's constitution and finished it on November 26, 1949. According to the constitution, India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic on January 26, 1950. Since then, the people of India celebrate January 26 as Republic Day. A massive parade reflecting a touch of India's capabilities and growth in various sectors is held at Raj Path. Children from different parts of the country present several cultural programmes. Republic Day is not mere a festival to celebrate, it is an occasion of national pride.

The seeds for a republic were sown by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru in the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress, held in the midnight of December 31, 1929 - January 1, 1930. The voice for Complete Freedom (Purn Swaraj) became louder after the meeting and all the nationalist present in the meeting took a pledge to celebrate January 26th of every year as the Republic Day of India. After a long struggle and sacrifices, India achieved freedom on August 15, 1947 but the dream of Purn Swaraj was fulfilled only on January 26th, 1950. Initially, India was wholly depended on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. Until the adaptation of constitution of India, King George VI headed the nation.

After the adoption of India's constitution, elections were held and Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of the republic of India. He hoisted the tri-color national flag at the Irwin stadium. This was historical moment for Sovereign democratic republic of India. And, the people of India give full respect to this historical day by celebrating it with immense zeal and happiness. Consisting of 397 articles and 12 schedules, the constitution of India is the longest in the world and provides a single citizenship to the whole nation. The National Anthem �Jana Gana Mana� is sung everywhere on January 26 to commemorate India's complete freedom or Purn Swaraj.

Republic Day conveys a message that India is one nation for all its citizens, whether they are Hindu, Muslims, Sikh or Christian.

Constitution of India
The constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. It sets the basic structure of government under which the people are governed. The nation's legislature and judiciary systems are solely dependent on its constitution as it defines the power of every organ and segregates the responsibilities of each. The constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any republic

History of Republic Day
January 26, 1950 is one of the most important days in the history of independent India. On this special day, the constitution of India came into force and a truly sovereign state was born. Attaining independence and becoming a republic nation was the biggest challenge that India had to face in the 20th century.

Spirit of Republic Day
Republic Day is one of the most celebrated national festivals of India. The whole nation comes together every year on January 26 to salute the sacrifices and struggles of freedom activists and those who participated in building India's constitution. Republic Day celebrates the Complete Freedom or Purn Swaraj of India from the British Empire as it was the day when the Constitution of India came into force.