Every year, January 26 is celebrated as Republic Day. It is celebrated to commemorate the day when our constitution came into effect back in 1950.
Republic Day is celebrated every year on 26 January to commemorate the day the Constitution of India came into effect. Even though we had gained independence on 15 August, 1947, nascent India did not have its own laws which were drafted and finally adopted in the year 1950. Let’s look into the importance of the Republic Day and how it is going to be celebrated this year
On this day, several festivities take place in New Delhi in which a mammoth parade that is watched by everyone around the country on their television sets takes place. The national flag is hoisted on this day with pride, the nation’s spirit, and ethos.
However, this year this day will witness muted celebrations due to COVID-19. The number of people attending the event has been shortened and it is being made sure that all safety precautions are taken care of.
The festivities for this special day begin on January 26 morning when the Prime Minister goes to the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate and lays a wreath to honour the martyrs who lost their lives while fighting for the country. The celebrations go on for around four days.
On January 29, a beating retreat takes place at the Vijay Chowk that marks the end of the Republic Day celebrations. Here, the chief guest is the President of India who comes on a cavalry unit with his bodyguards and the unit is asked to give the National Salute, followed by the National Anthem.
Every year, a distinguished personality from another country is cordially invited to attend the parade on Republic Day. The first Chief Guest of the Republic Day festivities back in 1950 was the first President of Indonesia, Sukarno. The reason behind Jawaharlal Nehru inviting him was to shed light on the Indonesian struggle against the Dutch rule in their country as well as both of them sharing anti-colonial ideologies.
However, due to Covid-19, there will be no such guest gracing everyone with their presence this year.
FLAG FACTOID
• Our national flag has undergone a lot of transformation until it was adopted in its current state on July 22, 1947
• For the unknown, the current tricolored Indian National flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya of Macchilipatnam in 1916
Twitter launches dedicated emoji
As Indians across the world gear up to celebrate the 72nd Republic Day, Twitter on Monday announced the launch of a specially dedicated emoji to mark this momentous occasion.
The unique emoji design depicts the Indian Air Force (IAF) fly past in the Indian tri-colours. The flypast soars the skies as part of the Republic Day celebrations each year.
"With Covid-19 restrictions in place, we needed to find a way to bring the parade to the virtual public square. This year's emoji is not only a special tribute to the fly past - the showstopper of the parade each year - it is a way of bringing people together in the spirit of celebration," Payal Kamat, Public Policy, Twitter India said in a statement.
President Ramnath Kovind will tweet with the emoji, calling upon Indians in the country and across the world to revel in the celebrations and sentiments of national pride and unity. The emoji will be live until 30 January and will be available in English as well as ten Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Kannada, Punjabi. Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati.
In a first, Bangladesh army to take part in R-Day parade
In a first, a contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces will participate in the Republic Day parade on Tuesday, commemorating 50 years of the country's Liberation War and establishment of diplomatic ties with India.
This is the third time that a contingent from a foreign country will be taking part in the Republic Day celebrations. The other two countries being France (2016) and the UAE (2017).
The contingent will comprise of personnel drawn from all the three wings of its armed forces and carries with it the legacy of the Muktijoddhas of Bangladesh who fought against tyranny and oppression for the freedom of their nation.
The marching contingent members will be wearing a special "red collar" in honour of the heroes who made sacrifice in the 1971 war.
This year India and Bangladesh are celebrating 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties as well as the the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. Both sides have agreed to hold commemorative events in several other countries and also jointly organise events throughout the year.
FAMOUS FIRST WORDS
India’s road to becoming an independent nation saw leadership and sacrifice of great personalities who first helped in the fight against British rule and later, establishing it as a “Sovereign, Socialist, Democratic, Republic” as declared by the Constitution. On this republic day, let us look back at some of those personalities – who led India’s freedom struggle from the front – and their famous speeches.
• Tryst with Destiny by Jawaharlal Nehru
At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
One of the most iconic speeches by Pandit Nehru is ‘Tryst with Destiny’ that he delivered to the Indian Constituent Assembly on the eve of India’s independence, towards midnight on August 14, 1947. Since then, the speech has been referenced in many films, and books; including Salman Rushdie’s book Midnight's Children and the 1998 Hindi film Earth directed by Deepa Mehta.
• Give me blood and I will give you freedom: Subhas Chandra Bose
This is perhaps the most famous speech by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Spoken as a part of a motivational speech for the Indian National Army in Burma in 1944, Bose's most famous quote was: It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. Give me blood and I will give you freedom! In this, Netaji urged the people of India to join him in his fight against the British Raj.
• Swaraj is my Birthright: Bal Gangadhar Tilak
One of the firebrand freedom fighters, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was the strongest proponent of 'purna swaraj' or 'total self-rule'. Bal Gangadhar Tilak delivered this speech in Nashik in 1917 when he came out of prison after six years. “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it,” he famously said.
