On 26 January, the Republic of India celebrates Republic Day, which marks the date of the activation of the Indian Constitution, which was replaced by the Government of India Act (Document 1935) on this day in 1950. The date of January 26 was chosen from the date of the declaration of independence in 1930 In Lahore.
The Republic Day of India is a commemoration of the approval of the Constitution by Constituent Assembly on January 26, 1950 that enshrines India as a Republic.
While the main celebration takes place in the capital New Delhi, many of the largest cities in India in its 22 states are organizing their own celebrations on this date.
India celebrates three major festivals each year. In addition to Republic Day, the Independence Day from the British Crown on August 15, 1947, and Gandhi Jayanti’s birthday, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday celebration on October 2.
The Constitution of India, which came into force on January 26, 1950, is one of the longest and most comprehensive written constitutions in the world. Its introduction defines India as a sovereign state and is a socialist, secular and democratic republic.
The Indian parliamentary system operates according to the Westminster system and consists of two legislative councils, while the Indian government is often described as “semi-federal” with a strong status and weaker mandates. But as a result of political, economic and social changes since the late 1990s, the Indian government’s tendency to the federal system has increased in the country’s business.
History and civilization
India has a long history of anti-colonialism and has a long-standing civilization that was reflected in the new political formation that emerged on August 15, 1947, when India gained full independence from the British rule, but at the same
India dates back to prehistoric stone ages and is the cradle of the Indus Valley civilization, the historical trade route and many empires. The Indian subcontinent has been known for its vast commercial and cultural wealth for a long period of its long history.
Historians have found traces of ancient human settlements, some of which date back to 5,000 years or even before BC, which gradually evolved into the Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3300 BC in Western India, followed by the Vedic era that ended in 500 BC, Many independent kingdoms and republics are established throughout the country.
Soon after, it joined the Moorish Empire that united most of South Asia in the third century BC, and then prospered during the reign of Greater Ashoka. In the third century AD, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the era to which India was referred to as the Golden Age. The Southern Indian empires included the Chlukia empire, the Chula family and Vijayanagara.
Thanks to the patronage of these kings, ancient science and technology, engineering, arts, logic, language, literature, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy flourished. This was followed by the Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent between the tenth and twelfth centuries, becoming a large part of northern India under the rule of Delhi. The country later fell under the occupation and rule of the Mongol Empire.
Under the reign of Jalaluddin Akbar, India enjoyed cultural and economic progress as well as religious harmony. Gradually, the Mongol emperors expanded their empires into large parts of the Indian sub-continent under their rule. One of the most important rulers of the Mongols in the Indian continent was the Mongol ruler Shah Jihan, who left great monuments still immortal, witness the progress of construction in his time, The ruins are the Taj Mahal in Agra, which is visited by millions a year, while the dominant power in northeastern India was the kingdom of Ahum in Assam, one of the few kingdoms that was not governed by the Mongols.
The first major threat faced by the Mughal Empire in India was by Rajput and Maharana Pratap in the 14th century, and later by a Hindu state known as the Maratha, which controlled much of India in the mid-18th century.
From colonialism to liberation platforms
Since the 16th century, European powers such as Portugal, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom have established commercial stations, and later exploited internal conflicts to establish colonies in the country. The administration of India was assigned to the British East India Company by 1856, to be colonized by the United Kingdom from mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century.
A year later, armed rebellion by armed forces and the kingdoms took place throughout the country, known as the Indian Revolution (1857) or the Indo-Indian Rebellion as an academic term. This revolution was a serious challenge to the power of the company, but these revolutions failed. As a result of instability, India became under the direct control of the British Empire.
In the 20th century and nationally, the Indian National Congress and many political organizations led the National Struggle Movement for India’s Independence. Indian leader Muhannadas Karamshand Gandhi has emerged as the leader of millions of people in national campaigns of peaceful civil disobedience, called the Struggle for Independence, which has been characterized by widespread non-violent resistance.
On August 15, 1947, India gained independence from British rule and was declared a republic on January 26, 1950. India faced great challenges after independence, notably religious fanaticism, class violence, the NCP (Maoist Communist Party), terrorism and local rebel groups, Kashmir and the north-eastern Indian insurgency.
India is one of the founding members of the United Nations (when it was called the British India) and the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1974, India conducted its first underground nuclear test, and five other tests in 1998, with which India became a nuclear state
Cultural and human diversity
With the diversity of religions and races in India, the multicultural society, which has produced a diverse and civilized diversity, has led the South Asian Republic to the ranks of developed countries and carried its sails to the cities of the world to move that ethnic diversity, although sometimes inflamed, but it keeps the Republic of India in harmony with the mosaic.
According to various sources, the name India derived from the word “Indus”, which in turn derived from the ancient Persian language, and used the word “Hindus” to describe the Indians. In Sanskrit, India was called “Sendo”, the historical name of the Indus River. The ancient Greeks named India as Indo. They also referred to their people sometimes as the people of Indus.
On the official level and because of the absence of a central official language of the country, the Indian Constitution has recognized the name of «Baharat» as the official name of the country and give full legal equality in employment as well as the designation of India. The name Bharat is derived from the name of a legendary Indian king bearing the same name. Hindustan, which is the direct Persian translation of the name Hindu land, is sometimes used as a description of the country and is sometimes used as a synonym for the name of India, although historically it referred to northern India.
Like other ancient civilizations, India has produced an enormous amount of literature and arts, ranging from literature, music and immortal works of art to the country’s rock. The Sanskrit language was used in the transmission of Indian legends. The Vedas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were prominent in the theater, and in the theater the play of confession, in the Mahakia poetry, was translated into several international languages, perhaps the first of the Abbasids in the Harun al-Rashid era. In modern era, the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, who won the Nobel Prize in 1913.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Written by Dhouha Essaafi)
