Republic Day: Know The History And Significance Of January 26, And A Few Interesting Facts About The Day

While India's Independence Day celebrates the country's freedom from British Rule, Republic Day commemorates the adoption of the country's constitution in 1950.

Republic Day marks the adoption of the constitution of India and the transition of the country to a republic on January 26, 1950. Every year, the celebrations marking the day feature spectacular military and cultural pageantry. In New Delhi, armed forces personnel march along the Rajpath, in an elaborate display of military might. The epic show on Rajpath eclipses everything else happening across the country on this auspicious day.

History

While our Independence Day celebrates freedom from British Rule, Republic Day commemorates the constitution coming into force. January 26 was the chosen date since it was on this day in 1929 that the Indian National Congress issued the Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj), opposing the British Regime's Dominion status.

On August 15, 1947, India achieved independence. A committee was created a few days later, on August 29, to draft a permanent constitution for independent India. Dr BR Ambedkar was made chairman of the committee. On November 4, 1947, the committee drafted the constitution and submitted it to the Constituent Assembly. The Assembly met in numerous sessions for nearly two years before finally adopting the Constitution. On January 24, 1950, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two handwritten versions of the agreement -- one in Hindi and one in English -- after much deliberation and a few changes.