26 JAN REPUBLIC DAY

Republic Day

26 January is celebrated as Republic Day. Because the Constitution was implemented in India by the Constituent Assembly on 26 January 1950. Now let us understand the functioning of the Constituent Assembly and the Constitution. First of all, what is the Constituent Assembly?

1. Constituent Assembly – In simple words – Constituent Assembly is the one which makes the constitution of a country. According to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Constituent Assembly is a dynamic nation which takes off the cover of the past and creates a new garment for itself.

2. Development of the Constitution in India – As far as its development is concerned, it has been developed since the early days of the national movement. In 1906, the Indian National Congress had demanded independence in India, the ideas of the Constituent Assembly were also reflected in it. In 1922, Mahatma Gandhi said that the Indian Constitution would be made as per the wishes of the Indians. Congress's demand for complete independence on the banks of Ravi river on December 31, 1929; Congress supported the demand of the Swarajya Party in the Patna and Lucknow sessions of 1934 and 1936; in the proclamation of the then Viceroy Lord Linlithgow in 1940 and 1942. The matter of Constituent Assembly was mentioned in the Cripps proposals.

3. Formation of the Constituent Assembly – According to the Cabinet Mission Plan, the Constituent Assembly was formed in July 1946. In which the total number of members was fixed at 389, of which 292 were representatives of British provinces, 4 were representatives of Chief Commissioner areas and 93 were representatives of princely states. In which elections were held for 296 posts. In which Congress got 208 positions.

4. Working of the Constituent Assembly – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 9 December 1946 at 11 o'clock in the day in the chamber of the present Parliament House, New Delhi. In which 210 members were present. First of all, Congress President Acharya Kripalani stood up and proposed the name of Dr. Sachchidanand Sinha for the post of temporary president and Dr. Sachchidanand Sinha was unanimously elected as the temporary president. In the meeting held on 11 December 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent president and B.N. Rao was appointed to the post of constitutional advisor. On 13 December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the Constitution by presenting his famous “Objective Resolution”. It held 11 sessions and met for 165 days. To run this work smoothly, 15 committees were appointed but the drafting committee gave the final shape to the constitution. The Draft Committee was constituted by the Constituent Assembly on 29 August 1947 to discuss the draft of the Constitution prepared by B.N. Rao. Whose president was Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. The number of members in the drafting committee was seven. After deliberating on the draft of the Constitution, the Drafting Committee presented its report in the Constituent Assembly on 21 February 1948. This draft was discussed in the Constituent Assembly from 4 November 1948 to 9 November 1948, thus the first reading ended. The second reading continued from 15 November 1948 to 17 October 1949. The Constituent Assembly started the third reading of the Constitution on 14 November 1949, which continued till 26 November 1949. 284 members of the Constituent Assembly were present in this reading. Rajendra Prasad, President of the Constituent Assembly, signed the draft of the Constitution on 26 November 1949. The draft of the Constitution was debated for a total of 114 days. A total of Rs 63,96,729 was spent on the construction of the Constitution and it took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days. When the Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly, it had a total of 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules. At present the Constitution has 22 parts, 395 articles and 12 schedules. Out of the total articles of the Constitution, 15 i.e. 5,6,7,8,9,60,324,366,367,372,380,388,391, 392, and 393 articles were promulgated on 26 November 1949. Now the wait was for an important day when India would be made a full republic, I mean the entire Constitution would be implemented.

5. Why was the Constitution of India implemented only on 26 January? Because on 31 December 1929, Congress, under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, proposed the demand for complete independence on the banks of Ravi River in Lahore and on 26 January 1930, thousands of people celebrated Independence Day all over India. And to keep this day memorable, it was decided to implement the Constitution on 26 January. For this, another final meeting of the Constitution was held on 24 January 1950 and Dr. Rajendra Prasad took oath as the first President in the Durbar Hall of Government House. And on 26 January 1950, the entire Constitution was implemented in India and India became a republic. That's why we celebrate every 26th January as Republic Day.