The free people of India wished to make their own Constitution. The Constituent Assembly of India took two years eleven months and eighteen days to make a Constitution for India.
The consideration of the Draft Constitution took 114 days. The Constituent Assembly finished it on the 26th November 1949. This new Constitution of India came into force on the 26th January 1950. According to it India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic. Since then the 26th January in every year is observed as our Republic day. Republic means a state having a Government of the people, by the people and for the people. People are the real function-head of all power.
Republic Day marks the birth of our nation. It is celebrated with great pomp and show over the country. It is a great day for all of us. It is a day of remembrance, thanksgiving, and rejoicing. It is a day to remember and keep alive the fond memories of national heroes who have shed their blood for the freedom of our nation.
It is also a day of national pledge when we decided to make our country, sovereign, democratic, and republic. A great deal more remains to be done, to achieve this pledge. It is up to you and me to redeem this pledge and make our nation truly democratic and republic. We should every year observe our Republic Day with all sincerity on the 26th January. Because this observance will remind us of our sacred duty to guard our Constitution. There is a saying. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” If we do not be vigilant of our Constitution we will lose our true freedom. The autocrats will eat into its Vitality. Hence, we should observe our Republic Day every year.
The Republic Day is observed with much pomp and grandeur in India. It is quite fittingly observed in New Delhi and in the State capitals. On this day, we see the police parade and the march-past. People rally round the Indian National Flag. Flag-hoisting forms an important part of the ceremony. The National Anthem “Jana Gana Mana..” is sung everywhere. It is the sacred duty of every Indian young and old to observe the Republic day of India. It is the day on which we should sincerely promise to guard our Constitution which has made India the Sovereign Democratic Republic.
In the life of every nation there are certain days which are considered as red-letter days. The Republic Day celebration held on 26th January every year in our country is one of those days. It is perhaps the most important day of our country. The origin of Republic day goes back to pre- independence days of 1929, when the Indian National Congress during its Lahore session under the President ship of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru passed a resolution declaring ‘Complete Independence’ as the goal of the nation and decided to celebrate 26th January every year as the Independence day throughout the length and breadth of the country. A republic is a state, where the head of the state is elected and that the office is not hereditary.
A special guest, normally a high foreign dignitary is invited well in advance to be the chief guest for the function. So this year we have US President Barack Obama presiding over the function.
The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the role and sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the cause of country in the freedom movement and also in the succeeding wars for the defence of sovereignty of their motherland. The President delivers his patriotic speech to audience about the importance of the Republic Day. The parade is followed by a pageant of spectacular displays from the different states of the country. These moving exhibits depict scenes of activities of people in those states and the music and the songs of that particular state. Each display brings out the diversity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion.
A colorful cultural programme follows the military programme. The Parade is also an occasion for the display of India’s military strength and a number of arms, ammunitions, tanks and fighter aircrafts, some of them indigenously developed, are paraded.
The latest war weapons move slowly by the saluting base. The band plays martial tunes. Further, the streak of jet planes of Indian Air force, leaving a trial of coloured smoke, marks the end of the festival. The Republic Day is commemorated in memory of the martyrs those who dedicated their lives for the achievement of independence of India from the British Dominion. On the Republic Day, we pay our respectful homage to those valiant fighters for their supreme sacrifice and immense love for our motherland. The Republic Day of India has acquired the status of the social celebration in which people participate whole-heartedly as spectators. The celebrational mosaic is studded with different activities. The patriotic fervour of the people in this day brings the whole country together even in her essential diversity.
The Republic Day of India can be considered as a people’s day. The constitution of India whose promulgation is celebrated and it is a highly symbolic of the aspirations which we the people of India.
The Constitution laid down the method of governance and established the relationship of the citizen to the state. It endeavours to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity and assures the dignity of the individual by conferring fundamental rights upon the citizen.
The Constitution abolished all distinctions of status, rank, creed, colour and sex. It outlawed untochability, an abominable social practice that had created discrimination and tensions in society. Really, the Constitution is the supreme law in our country. Hence the Republic Day is sacrosanct as its significance is deep rooted.
India at present owes its programmes to the Constitution. She can build her future on the basis of the tenets enshrined therein. It is a day of the citizen of the country when he is supreme.
May the Prosperity and Love Brought To Us by Our Freedom Fighters Live Forever.
Happy and Prosperous Republic Day. May the Glory of India Live Forever.
