Why do we celebrate Republic Day? Why the date January 26?

India is celebrating its 75th Republic Day on January 26, 2024 in a grand manner. But do you know why this particular date - January 26 - was chosen for the celebration? 

The Federal spoke to D Hariparanthaman, the retired justice of the Madras High Court, on why January 26 was picked. He also spoke about why people read out the Preamble of the Constitution when the country is going through a political and social crisis.

At the outset, he explains the difference between Independence and Republic Day.

"India became a free nation from the British. The day (August 15, 1947) we gained Independence to govern ourselves that day is celebrated as Independence Day. But we did not have a Constitution of our own. So, the nation had to wait to adopt its Constitution and that took two years. Finally, on January 26, 1950 we adopted our Constitution, and that day is commemorated as Republic Day,’’ he said.

Explaining the significance of the date January 26, Hariparanthaman said, "Mahatma Gandhi’s call for total independence in the name of Purna Swaraj was passed as a resolution by the Indian National Congress on January 26, 1930. The Congress party continued the practice of celebrating January 26 as Independence Day every year since 1930. To mark the importance of Gandhi’s call for Purana Swaraj, national leaders decided to celebrate Republic Day on that same date in January. And though the Indian constitution was very much ready in November 1949 itself, they waited for two more months and adopted it on January 26th.’’

And, why do people read the Preamble of the Indian constitution in difficult times? Justice Hariparanthaman said the Preamble is the crux of the Constitution and it has become a practice among social activists to read it during tough times whenever citizens are oppressed.

"The preamble is the soul of the constitution. It declares India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic nation. So, there should not be any inequality or non-secular treatment towards any individual. That’s why the preamble is mentioned to question the government when people face oppression," he said.