Part-I
Uncle, what is republic day
When a young girl, six years old, asks what is republic day, why is it a holiday, what do you answer ? Grow up a little more, then I shall tell you, you will not understand now ? Be happy with flag hoisting, the flowers dropping, singing of Jana gana mana and the sweets ?
Independence day, we can explain to them as a fairy tale.There were people from England who came to our house and ate our food and beat us up. Mahatma Gandhi, Bose and other uncles , fought with them for many days, with guns and sticks (difficult to explain non violence) and chased the big bad wolves away.
Our country got independence, we were free and no body to beat us. We can not tell her, now, our own uncles are beating us.
Coming back to republic day, even many adults have forgotten what it is about or is not bothered to know. You may get answers like something to do with constitution of India , something to do with Ambedkar.
The answer to this is never at the top of my head unlike Independence day. It takes a few seconds before I start answering.
Republic day is a celebration of binding us all together with the constitution of India, comradeship with fellow citizens, a necessity
Independence day gives you a joy of freedom (don’t bother from what), a comradeship with fellow citizens, its got to do with the heart.
Let me try answering the kid about Republic day.
They made a book many years ago, that tells our kings, queens and us , how to be good boys and girls, not to do naughty things. On republic day, it is the birthday of the book. I am trying hard to explain to the kid, some body help!!!
Before we talk about what is a Republic or Republic day, lets first define Indian constitution
It is a nation or state’s governing law, in other words a law to govern
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens. … The nation is governed by it.
A republic (from Latin: res publica) is a sovereign state or country which is organized with a form of government in which power resides in elected individuals representing the citizen body and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of land.
Sovereignty is the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies
Republic Day, honours the date on which the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India.
Why 26 January
26 January was chosen as the Republic day because it was on this day in 1930 when the Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime.
It is one of three national holidays in India, the other two being Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti.
Delhi Republic day Parade
Delhi Republic Day parade is held in the capital, New Delhi. Commencing from the gates of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President’s residence), Raisina Hill on Rajpath past the India Gate, this event is the main attraction of India’s Republic Day Celebrations lasting 3 days. The parade showcases India’s Defence Capability, Cultural and Social Heritage.
Nine to twelve different regiments of the Indian Army in addition to the Navy, and Air Force with their bands march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. Twelve contingents of various para-military forces of India and other civil forces also take part in this parade.
Rehearsals of republic day parade 2017
Parade
Beating Retreat
The Beating Retreat ceremony is held after officially denoting the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The venue is Raisina Hill and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the North and South block of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Palace) towards the end of Rajpath.
The Chief Guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the (PBG), a cavalry unit. When the President arrives, the PBG commander asks the unit to give the National Salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the Army. The Army develops the ceremony of display by the massed bands in which Military Bands, Pipe and Drum Bands, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments besides bands from the Navy and Air Force take part which play popular tunes like Abide With Me, Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite hymn, and Saare Jahan Se Achcha at the end.
Rehearsal of retreat
Rest of the country also celebrates, on a smaller scale, however one common thing that makes everybody happy is the holiday.
Every year, we have a chief guest from a foreign country. This year, 2017 it is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, from Abu Dhabi, UAE.
END of Part – I, you have a chance to quit here
Part – II
Chief guests in republic day parade
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Part-III
Parts of the Constitution and What They Deal with
| PARTS | SUBJECTS | ARTICLES |
| I | The Union and its territory | 1-4 |
| II | Citizenship | |
| III | Fundamental Rights | |
| IV | Directive Principles of State Policy | |
| IV- A | Fundamental Duties | |
| V | THE UNION | |
| The Executive | ||
| Parliament | ||
| Legislative Powers of the President | ||
| The Union Judiciary | ||
| Comptroller and Auditor- General of India | ||
| VI | THE STATES | |
| General (Definition) | ||
| The Executive | ||
| The State Legislature | ||
| Legislative Powers of the Governor | ||
| The High Courts in the States | ||
| Subordinate Courts | ||
| VIII | The Union Territories | |
| IX | The Panchayats | |
| IX-A | The Municipalities | |
| IX-B | The Co-Operative Societies | |
| X | The Scheduled and Tribal Areas | |
| XI | RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNION AND THE STATES | |
| Legislative Relations | ||
| Administrative Relations | ||
| XII | FINANCE, PROPERTY, CONTRACTS AND SUITS | |
| Finance | ||
| Borrowing | ||
| Property, Contracts, Rights, Liabilities, Obligations and Suits | ||
| Right to Property | ||
| XIII | Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the territory of India | |
| XIV | SERVICES UNDER THE UNION AND THE STATES | |
| Services | ||
| Public Service Commissions | ||
| XIV- A | Tribunals | |
| XV | Elections | |
| XVI | Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes | |
| XVII | OFFICIAL LANGUAGE | |
| Language of the Union | ||
| Regional Languages | ||
| Languages of the Supreme Court, High Courts, etc. | ||
| Special Directives | ||
| XVIII | Emergency Provisions | |
| XIX | Miscellaneous | |
| XX | Amendment of the Constitution | |
| XXI | Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions | |
| XXII | Short Title, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals | |
The Constitution has been amended several times so that the original 22 parts now stand at 25 parts.
ADDED
Part of IV-A, 42nd amendment
Part of XIV-A, 42nd amendment
REMOVED
Part of VII, 7th Amendment
Some Important Articles of the Constitution of India
Let us now look at some of the important articles of the Constitution of India and what they deal with.
| ARTICLE | DEALS WITH |
| 1 | Name and Territory of Union |
| 3 | New States Formation, Alteration of Boundaries etc. |
| 13 | Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the Fundamental Rights |
| 14 | Equality before Law (popularly known as Right to Equality) |
| 15 | Prohibition of Discrimination (on basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) |
| 16 | Equality in case of Public Employment |
| 17 | Abolition of Untouchability |
| 18 | Abolition of Titles |
| 19 | Protection of Certain Rights to Freedom (popularly known as Right to Freedom) |
| 19a | Freedom of Speech & Expression |
Definitions and tables from internet.
With due respect to the constitution of India and Salute to the flag on 26 Jan
JAI HIND
Rajmenon's Blog 
Colors of the Indian flag – the top band is of Saffron colour, indicating the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The last band is green in colour shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land
Thanks Pooja for the spirit behind the colours of the flag.
ref:: http://www.india.com/buzz/do-you-know-the-first-10-chief-guests-india-invited-to-rajpath-for-the-republic-day-parade-890031/Part – II
“However, the one tradition that has continued in India over the years has been the presence of a Chief Guest for the Republic Day Parade. India has invited political leaders from neighbouring countries and nations it shares alliances with in the past. While there have been leaders who have visited the nation many times as the Chief Guest (France being the maximum at being invited 5 times), there have been years when India did not have a Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade. It was in 1952, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1970 that India did not have a Chief Guest at the parade.”
ref::https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Day_(India)#History_of_Republic_Day
“History of Republic Day
India achieved independence from British raj on 15 August 1947 following the Indian independence movement noted for largely peaceful non-violent resistance and civil disobedience led by Mahatma Gandhi. The independence came through the Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo 6 c 30), an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth (later Commonwealth of Nations).[2] India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947 as a constitutional monarchy with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general. The country, though, did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. On 28 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr B R Ambedkar as chairman.
While India’s Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates the coming into force of its constitution. A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947.[3] The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. Two days later, it came into effect throughout the whole nation.”
That means INDIA became an independent nation/country only on January 26, 1950. Till then it was a dominion of British Commonwealth. Since January 26, 1930, Indians used to observe every January 26 as Independence Day (Swatantrya Din/Diwas) through rallies, marches, public meetings etc. to reiterate their resolve to throw out British Yoke of slavery. That’s why it was selected for effecting the constitution and named ‘Republic Day’ to avoid confusion with August 15, 1947.
Thank you, Jogalekar Sir for the fill up of the history of republic and missing names of the chief guests. Your statement that India gets real independence on 26 January 1950 and its justification is an information I would like to share with my readers.
Dr Wagle, you are an inspiration for me to write. You are among the few, who has been regularly analyzing my posts and adding value to it with sensible inputs. Thank You.
A well framed statement in the Republic Day address of Director of IIT Mandi to the IIT Mandi family – while Independence Day represents the culmination of the freedom struggle, Republic Day represents the start of a nation’s journey into the future and cannot be any less important if not more!
E xcellent simplification
Thank you Menon for making me do some research in History. There are lot of things that we were not taught in our History classes.
India was called “Dominion of India” from 1947 to 1950. India had an official King in George VI post independence and this type of government system that could be called ‘constitutional monarchy’.
Many people in India still believe that a Dominion status is equivalent to an absolute independent status. A ‘dominion’ is a country of the British Commonwealth having its own government.
Only on January 26th 1950 when India became a republic was the word Dominion replaced by Republic.
And for many more years the heads of our Army, Navy & Air-force were British.
A couple of years which followed immediately after independence were particularly trying for Indian leaders. Containing utterly unexpected horrors of partition, tricky business of princely state integration and accommodation of refugees were priority problems for Indian leadership.
While performing fire fighting jobs on all these fronts, constitution was being drafted under Dr Ambedkar by a Constitution Committee which Dr Rajendra Prasad headed. Till the acceptance of the constitution, an ad hoc arrangement was necessary to continue functioning of executive body.
Governor General, better known as the Viceroy, was supreme head of India and the representative of British crown in British India. After signing the Independence treaty, at the request of Indian leaders, Lord Mountbatten became Acting – Governor-General of India.
Governor-General was supposed to oversee executive tasks with the help of ad hoc cabinet formed under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. Mountbatten presided over the post till November 1947, before leaving for England.
Departure of Mountbatten set in motion something unprecedented, swearing in of C. Rajagopalachari as Governor General of India. An Indian became a Viceroy for the first time and he was the last person to hold the post. Rajaji presided over the post till 26th January, 1950, functioning under the advice of an ad-hoc cabinet.
Constituent assembly accepted constitution of India on 26th January, 1950. India became an independent sovereign state and Dr Rajendra Prasad was appointed as first President of India, thereby suspending the authority of Governor General.
First general elections were held in 1952, under the guidance of newly accepted constitution. The rest, as they say, is history.
The following site gives some interesting views on the subject.
http://greatgameindia.com/did-india-really-become-independent-on-august-15th-1947/
Regards
Rajendran
Thanks, Rajendran. I wrote on that subject trying to keep it as simple as possible to trigger to go into details . Dr Wagle, Mr Joglekar and you had added so much valuable information, we can a complete chapter in a history book. Fantastic.
Why 26 Jan,,,
Now I know,,,
Keep writing to enlighten the 6yr olds like me,,,