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58 years back, a salute of 21 guns and the
unfurling of the Indian National flag by Dr.
Rajendra Prasad heralded the historic birth
of the Indian Republic on January 26, 1950;
894 days after our country became a dominion
following withdrawal of British Rule. Since
then, every year the day is celebrated with
great pride and happiness all over the
nation. The transition of India from a
British colony to a sovereign, secular, and
democratic nation was indeed historical. It
was a long journey of around two decades
that started with the conceptualisation of
the dream in 1930 to its actual realization
in 1950. A look into the journey that led to
the birth of Indian Republic will make our
celebrations more meaningful.
Lahore Session of the
Indian National Congress
The seeds of a republican nation were
sowed at the Lahore session of the Indian
National Congress at the midnight of 31st
December 1929. The session was held under
the presidency of Pt. Jawarhar Lal Nehru.
Those present in the meeting took a pledge
to mark January 26 as "Independence Day" in
order to march towards realizing the dream
of complete independence from the British.
The Lahore Session paved way to the Civil
Disobedience movement. It was decided that
January 26, 1930 would be observed as the
Purna Swaraj (complete Independence) Day.
Many Indian political parties and Indian
revolutionaries from all over the country
united to observe the day with honour and
pride.
Indian Constituent Assembly
Meetings
The Indian Constituent Assembly, which
was constituted as a result of the
negotiations between the Indian leaders and
members of the British Cabinet Mission, had
its first meeting on December 9, 1946. The
Objective of the Assembly was to give India
a constitution, which would serve a lasting
purpose and hence appointed a number of
committees to thoroughly research the
various aspects of the proposed
constitution. The recommendations were
discussed, debated and revised many times
before the Indian Constitution was finalized
and officially adopted three years later on
November 26, 1949.
Constitution came into
force
Though India became a free nation on
August 15, 1947, it enjoyed the true spirit
of Independence on January 26, 1950 when the
Constitution of India finally came into
force. The Constitution gave the citizens of
India the power to govern themselves by
choosing their own government. Dr. Rajendra
Prasad, took oath as the first President of
India at the Durbar Hall in the Government
House and this was followed by the
Presidential drive along a five-mile route
to the Irwin Stadium, where he unfurled the
National Flag.
Ever since the historic day, January 26
is celebrated with festivities and patriotic
fervor all around the country. The day owes
its importance to the constitution of India
that was adopted on this day. On this
Republic Day, read what the great
Constitution of India, that propounds
liberal democracy, has in its store. Let's
also feel proud in pronouncing what the
Preamble to our Constitution says. |
