India celebrates Constitution Day, also known as Samvidhan Divas, every year on November 26 as it marks the day the Indian Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. It was in 2015 when the Government of India decided to establish November 26 as Constitution Day to advance “constitutional values among residents”. The day was declared in the year which marked the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution. Earlier, this day was celebrated as Law Day.
Constitution Day 2024: History
After India became an independent country, the Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee chaired by Dr BR Ambedkar. Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, was the President of the Constituent Assembly, which was established in 1946.
At the beginning of 1948, Dr Ambedkar completed the draft of the Indian Constitution and presented it in the Constituent Assembly. It was on November 26, 1949, that this draft was adopted with very few amendments. The Indian Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, which is observed as Republic Day.
The Constituent Assembly took almost three years to complete the important and most historic task of drafting a Constitution for Independent India. Indian Constitution is the largest written constitution in the world with 1,17,360 words (in the English version).
The Preamble of the Constitution of India declares the country as a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic and aims to secure justice, liberty, and equality for all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation.
Constitution Day 2024: Significance
Samvidhan Divas is a tribute to the framers of the document. The Indian Constitution is the work of 271 men and women who were part of the constituent assembly that drafted it. By all means the Constitution serves as a powerful emancipation proclamation ending centuries of discrimination, economic, political and social exclusion for millions of people. So, Constitution Day is marked to honour the vision and efforts of the Constituent Assembly, which through maximum deliberations, laid the foundation for a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic.
