The Republic Day of India is celebrated every year on 26 January. It is a very proud day for the people of India. It was the day when India got its constitution and became a full-fledged democratic republic.
The day is significant because it is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (Purna Swaraj) which was officially announced on 26 January 1930.
The chief guest of the Republic Day celebrations this year is the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Al-Sisi arrived in India on Tuesday (January 24).
This is the first time that the President of a Muslim country- Egypt, has been invited as the chief guest for the event. Well the relations between India and Egypt are historical.
It is known to all that January 26 is celebrated as an independent republic. But there are also some interesting facts about it, let’s know about some of them.
- Republic Day was celebrated three years after independence i.e. on January 26, 1950. In fact, it took 2 years and 11 months to draft the Indian Constitution.
- First President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office for the first time on January 26, 1950 at Dabur Hall at Government House.
- During the Republic Day parade, “Abide with Me” a Christian song believed to be one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite songs, is played.
- One fun fact about India is that it has the longest constitution in the world. There is a record of having 448 articles in total.
- The first President of Indonesia attended the Republic Day celebrations as the first chief guest.
- The significance of Republic Day can be gauged from the fact that it is a three-day long affair with festivities beginning on January 29 with a Beating Retreat Ceremony.
- Hindi was declared the national language of India on 26 January 1965.
- On 26 January 1930, India resolved to fight for Poorna Swaraj and that is why, our freedom fighters wanted to give importance to this date. The result was that on January 26, 1950, India was chosen to become a sovereign state.
- Our constitution has the best aspects of the constitutions of other countries. Liberty, equality and fraternity were adopted from the French constitution, while the five-year plan came from the USSR constitution.
- The first Republic Day parade was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and was attended by 15,000 citizens.
- On the day of the parade, all the parties participating in the parade get ready at 2 am and reach Rajpath by 3 am. All the teams have practiced for about 600 hours before joining the parade on 26 January. All the parties involved in the parade start preparing from July itself, about seven months in advance.
- An interesting fact about the Indian Constitution is that it is written in two languages – Hindi and English. It was signed by 308 members on 24 January 1950 and became effective two days later.
- The eve of Republic Day is chosen for the announcement of most of the national awards like Bharat Ratna, Kirti Chakra, Padma Awards.
- After the Republic Day of India came into force, India followed the Government of India Act, 1935 by the British Government.
- At 10:30 am on the first Republic Day 1950, a 31-gun salute was fired to greet our first President.
- On Republic Day, the Indian Air Force came into existence. Earlier, the Indian Air Force was a controlled body but after the Republic Day, the Indian Air Force became an independent body.