Thursday, 26th January marks the 73rd Republic Day of India. On this day, India celebrates the coming into effect of the Constitution of India on 26, January 1950. It was on this day in 1950 that India became a republic: the Constitution of free India replaced the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of the country. This marked the transition of India from an autonomous Commonwealth realm as the Indian Dominion, to a fully sovereign Republic in the Commonwealth of Nations with the President of India as the head of the Indian Union. Though the Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, it came into effect on 26 January 1950, to mark the date in 1930 that the Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress.
Sometimes people unfamiliar with India confuse Republic Day with India’s Independence Day. India gained its independence from British rule on 15 August 1947 following a hard-fought independence movement. Thousands and millions of Indians made enormous sacrifices to achieve India’s independence. But newly independent India did not have a Constitution. India continued to be governed by the modified version of the colonial Government of India Act 1935. Following independence, it was decided on 29 August 1947, to appoint a Drafting Committee to draft India’s Constitution. The Chairman of this Committee was Babasaheb Dr B R Ambedkar, a brilliant jurist, economist and social reformer, he earned doctorates in economics from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics, served as Minister for Law and Justice in Jawaharlal Nehru’s first cabinet, and was conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, posthumously in 1990. It was this draft constitution that came into force on Republic Day. Dr Rajendra Prasad then started his first term as first President of India.
This year the Republic Day is special for more than one reason. It comes in the midst of the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating and commemorating 75 years of a progressive nation and the glorious history of India’s people, culture and achievements. The official journey of "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" commenced on 12th March 2021 that started a 75-week countdown to the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence and will end post a year on 15th August 2023.
There is another factor that makes the Republic Day celebrations this year especially joyful. The celebrations this year began on the 23rd of January to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, who was born on 23 January 1897 in a prosperous and large Bengali family in Cuttack, in today's state of Odisha in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated a holographic grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the India Gate to mark this anniversary. A permanent granite statue will replace the holographic statue later. 23rd January is celebrated in India as Parakram Diwas (the Day of Valour).
Subhas Bose was sent to England after college to take the Indian Civil Service examination. He resigned from the Indian Civil Service on 22 April 1921 to participate in the freedom struggle. As per a letter circulating on social media, he wrote to Edwin Samuel Montagu, the then Secretary of State for India, that he desired to have his name removed from the list of probationers in the Indian Civil Services. Instead, he returned to India in 1921 and joined the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, Bose became Congress president in 1938. After reelection in 1939, he developed differences with Mahatma Gandhi and eventually was dissociated from the party.
Netaji followed a different path to achieve India’s independence. On October 21, 1943, he proclaimed the establishment of a provisional independent Indian government, having already formed the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) or INA. He famously said, “Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Main Tumhe Azadi Doonga” (Give me blood and I will give you freedom!). The INA had a separate women's unit, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment (named after Rani Lakshmi Bai) headed by Capt. Lakshmi Swaminathan, is a first of its kind in Asia.
The journey of independent India has been a remarkable achievement. India is a shining example of a country governed by the same Constitution for over 70 years, a flourishing and successful democracy, a thriving economy and a scientific and technical powerhouse. Much of the credit for this success goes to the founding fathers, their struggle, wisdom and sacrifices. All Indians who live and breathe in a free India remain eternally grateful.
