New Delhi: India will celebrate its 74th Republic Day on January 26. The day is observed to mark the transition of the country to a republic on January 26, 1950. Indian constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950. January 26 was the chosen date since it was on this day in 1929 that the Indian National Congress issued the Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj), opposing the British Regime’s Dominion status.
India got independence from the British on August 15, 1947. At that time India did not have a permanent constitution. The Indian laws at that time were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. On 29 August 1947, a resolution was moved for the appointment of Drafting Committee. The committee was formed under Dr B R Ambedkar as chairman to draft a permanent constitution for the country.
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On November 4, 1947, the committee drafted the constitution and submitted it to the Constituent Assembly. The Assembly met in numerous sessions for nearly two years before finally adopting the Constitution. On January 24, 1950, the 308 members of the Assembly signed 2 handwritten versions of the agreement — one in Hindi and one in English.
The constitution came into effect two days later, on January 26, 1950. Dr Rajendra Prasad began his first tenure as President of the Indian Union on that day. This completed the country’s transition to a sovereign republic.
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