India Gears up to Celebrate 72nd Republic Day

Every year, Republic Day is being celebrated in India on January 26 since 1950 to mark the establishment of the Indian Constitution which first came to effect on this very day. India was under British Colonial Rule for over two hundred long years and got its freedom on August 15, 1947, by the Indian Independence movement. Although India was free from the British Raj it didn't have any fixed constitution and at that period the laws were based on a modified version of the British established, Government of India Act 1935. Eventually after two weeks on August 29, 1947, with B R Ambedkar as the chairperson, a drafting committee was set up in order to draft the fixed constitution of India. And with a lot of hard work, the constitution was finally drafted and India was declared as the Sovereign Republic on January 26.

The significance of January 26 is that on that day in 1929, the Indian National Congress made the well known Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) as opposed to British rule. And though the Constitution came into force in 1950 with a democratic government system, it was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949. This completed the country's transition into becoming a sovereign republic.

The draft of the constitution was submitted to the Indian Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1947. Over the course of 166 days, which was spread over two years, the 308 members of the Assembly met in sessions that were open to the public and made some modifications. Finally, on January 24, 1950, the Assembly members signed two handwritten copies of the Constitution, one in English and one in Hindi. The Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution in the world. And two days later history was made. On that day began Dr Rajendra Prasad's first term of office as President of the Indian Union. The Constituent Assembly became the Parliament of India under the transitional provisions of the new Constitution.

How India Celebrates its Republic?

On January 26th, Republic Day is celebrated all over India with a lot of enthusiasm. In Delhi, magnificent parades are organized by regiments of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, police, and paramilitary forces at Rajpath. All the states of India showcase their culture, uniqueness by building beautiful tableaus during the parade. There are air shows by Air Force, and much more to commemorate this day.

72nd Republic day, 2021:

India is gearing up to celebrate its 72nd Republic day but with certain restrictions. Parade rehearsals are going on at Rajpath in New Delhi. However, this year the Republic Day celebration will slightly vary since the Covid 19 pandemic is still on. The parade will reportedly commence from Vijay Chowk and end at National Stadium, covering a distance of just 3.3 km instead of 8.2 km.

Considering the present situation, the security officials will only allow 25,000 spectators to witness the Republic Day parade. Here it is noteworthy to mention that people with co-morbidities and children below 15 will not be allowed as spectators.

For the first in 55 years, India will not have a foreign dignity as a chief guest at the Republic Day parade. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had earlier accepted the invitation for the parade but cancelled his visit amid fears over the new strain of COVID-19 infection.

"Due to the global COVID-19 situation, it has been decided that this year there will not be any foreign head of state or government as the chief guest for our Republic Day event," said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

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