Indian Republic Day

First of all, Happy Republic Day to you all. We’ve been republic since the enforcement of our Constitution, aren’t we? And when did that happen? Are we celebrating 70^th Republic Day or 69^th? Most of us are aware of these facts or some of us know more than that. But, do we know everything? Or say most of the things about our Republic Day? I guess not. So, here are some cool and important information about the Indian Republic Day:

The first thing we must know is that it’s the 70^th Indian Republic Day Today and not the 69^th. The first Republic Day was observed on 26^th of January 1950 and since then, on the very day, the whole nation celebrates the event.
The term ‘Republic’ has been mentioned in the Preamble of the Constitution of India. It denotes that The Constitution gives the citizens of India the power to choose their own government and paves the way for democracy.
Every year, a chief guest is invited for the ceremony. The first chief guest in 1950 was President Sukarno, Indonesia’s first President. The Chief Guest on 70^th Republic Day of India 2019 is “Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa”, the fifth and current President of South Africa. He was invited by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during the G20 summit held in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The reason for him being invited is because India is celebrating the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who had very close links with the people of South Africa.
The Nation did not have a fixed venue for the ceremony initially. It was held at Irwin Amphitheatre (now Dhyan Chand National Stadium), Kingsway (Rajpath), Red Fort and Ramlila Maidan. Finally in 1955 Rajpath was chosen as the permanent venue.
A salute of 21 guns and the unfurling of the Indian National flag was done by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India on January 26, 1950. Since then, it has been the custom that the national flag is unfurled by the President of India before the Republic Day Parade and is greeted by a 21 gun salute.
The importance of the date 26^th January can be marked way since 1930. The idea of a republican nation were first discussed at the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress on 31^st December 1929. Under the presidency of Pt. Jawarhar Lal Nehru, the meeting took a pledge to mark January 26 as “Independence Day” in order to get the dream of complete independence from the British fulfilled.
The famous Christian Hymn written by Henry Francis Lyte, ‘Abide With Me’, set to music by W.M. Monk, and very close to Mahatma Gandhi (his personal favourite hymns), is one of the important part of the ceremony.
One of the significant developments in India took place on January 26th, 1965. On the 16^th Republic Day, Hindi was declared the national language of India.
In the 67th Republic Day parade French Army soldiers and French Army Band took part. This marked the first time since the beginning of the parade in 1950, that a foreign army contingent marched down the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade.
On the eve of every Republic Day, the President of India greets the nation. On the very first Republic Day, the then President of India said: “We must re-dedicate ourselves on this day to the peaceful but sure realization of the dream that had inspired the Father of our Nation and the other captains and soldiers of our freedom struggle, the dream of establishing a classless, co-operative, free and happy society in ‘his country’. We must remember that this is more a day of dedications than of rejoicing – dedication to the glorious task of making the peasants and workers the toilers and the thinkers fully free, happy and cultured.”

The 70^th Republic Day showcases the victory of a nation which was enslaved for centuries but never lost its urge to rise from the hardest of difficulties. Today, India stands united against all odds and celebrates festival of democracy, liberty, fraternity and equality.

In the words of our President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, “Our society has shown great regard for those, whether individuals or institutions, who devote themselves to people’s welfare and go beyond the call of duty. The concept of seva, of devotion to public service and to the broadening of the ambit of justice, must get its due. Well-intentioned contributions of individuals, of groups of people, of institutions, whether public or private, of society at large, or for that matter of the government, must be acknowledged and appreciated.”[i], Kailasha Foundation once again wishes you all A Happy Republic Day.

Jai Hind!

[i] http://knowindia.gov.in/republic-day-celebration/president-speech.php