Indian Republic Day

A day of content, gratification, amour propre. Astonishingly, there’s a spate of Tricolour in every nook and corner. If that’s not enough, every four wheeler has one either on its bonnet, or on its dashboard. Why so much patriotism? What’s the special occasion?

It all dates back to the paradigm shift from a Constituent Assembly to India’s Constitution. Possessed by the need of a democracy advocating equality and liberty solely, Manabendra Nath Roy ( or M.N. Roy as he’s better known ) , proposed 22 thesis on Radical Democracy through which citizens would yield a democratic control over the State. This, he said, would be achieved by the collective efforts of mentally free men United and determined for creating a world of freedom. He is the Man behind formation of Constituent Assembly on 9th December, 1934. M.N.Roy, the unsung revolutionary, acted as the spark leading to the formulation of India’s Constitution.

After many ups and downs, going through the August Offer on August the 8th, 1940, which guaranteed giving full weights to the minorities’ opinions and handing the Indians the silver spoon of formulating their own Constitution by the then Viceroy Lord Linlithgow, the Cabinet Mission Plan of 16th May, 1946, the Indian Independence Act of 1947, Adoption of Indian flag on 22nd July, 1947, India achieving its Independence on 15th August, 1947, finally on 26th November , 1949 the Constitution of India was signed and accepted and it gave the way to coming of our Constitution, world’s longest written Constitution( comprising of 395 articles, 8 schedules and 22 parts ) into force on 26th January, 1950 ( after a time period of 2 yrs 11 mns and 18 days with a total expenditure of 6.4 millions ).

The foresighters behind this great achievement were Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar ( or Dr. B.R. Ambedkar ) as the Chairman,Sir Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi ( or K.M. Munshi or Ghanshyam Vyas ), Sir Muhammed Saadulah ( PM of Assam in British India ), Sir Alladi Krishnaswami Iyer, Sir Narasimha Gopalaswami Ayyangar ( PM of princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India ), Sir Nyayapathi Madhava Rau ( 23rd Dewan of Mysore ), and sir Tiruvellore Thattai Krishnnamachari ( FM of Independent India ). This 7-seater committee came to be known as the Drafting Committee. Though it had many intellectuals like a well-known Gujarati writer K.M.Munshi who later also became a lawyer and also founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1938, the Chairman of 1919 Gauhati Municipality and Minister-in-charge of Agriculture and Education in British India Sir Syyed, the Advocate General of Madras Sir Iyer, a Minister in India’s 1st Cabinet and leader of Rajya Sabha Sir Ayyangar, trade commissioner for Mysore in London Sir Madhava Rau and a founding member of National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi ( India’s 1st independent economic policy institute ) Sir Krishnnamachari, we only know about Dr. Ambedkar.

India has come a long way from 1950 to 2013 to be able to celebrate its 74th Republic Day. It will continue on its laurels for many many decades to come. In day-to-day terms, 74 may seem as a very old unenergetic age. That’s not the case if you still have the vigour. Surely, India has not lost its charisma. It never will. Sporadically it appears distorted, but the will power to get up and pounce, it’s still there.