Republic Day is one of the most important national festivals in India. It is celebrated with great pomp and show every year. This year marks the 74th Republic Day of India.
Republic day is celebrated on 26 January because this day marks the day of the adoption of the constitution. The Indian Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950, which affirmed India's existence as an independent republic.
26 January was chosen as the date because on this day in 1930, the Indian National Congress revealed Purna Swaraj, opposing the British Regime's Dominion status thus declaring India’s independence from colonial rule.
India's constitution, adopted in 1950 replaced the British colonial Government of India Act (1935) as the country's governing text.
It was on 26 January 1950 that the Preamble to the Constitution of India presenting the key principles of the Constitution came into effect. This completed the country's transition to a sovereign republic. The Constitution states fundamental rights that are to be enjoyed by all citizens of this country and it also establishes some fundamental duties for all citizens of the country to abide by.
The Constituent Assembly was made to draft the Constitution of India and their first session was conducted on 9 December 1946. Initially, the assembly had 389 members that got reduced to 299 on 15 August 1947.
The Drafting Committee was led by Dr. BR Ambedkar. The Drafting Committee had to prepare a Draft Constitution for India. The committee got rid of 2,400 amendments while debating and deliberating the constitution, out of nearly 7,600 amendments tabled.
The last session of the Constituent Assembly was held on 26 November 1949, and that is when the Constitution was adopted. It was on 26 January 1950 that it came into effect following the signatures of the 284 members who signed it.
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