Constitution Day of India: What is Samvidhan Diwas and why is it celebrated on 26 November?
On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India that came into force on 26 January 1950
The Constitution of India. Image: AFP
Constitution Day or Samvidhan Diwas is celebrated annually in India on 26 November. The day is also known as National Law Day. The day commemorates the adoption of the Constitution in India.
On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India that came into force on 26 January 1950.
According to a report in India Today, the day, which was earlier celebrated as Law Day, commemorates the pledge of Purna Swaraj, passed in the Lahore session of the Congress in 1930.
History
While on 26 November, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect from 1950, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 19 November, 2015, notified the decision of the Government of India to celebrate 26 November as 'Constitution Day'.
The day is celebrated to promote Constitution values among citizens.
As per a report in Scroll.in, the two months between the adoption and enforcement of the Constitution was used for reading and translation of the document from English to Hindi.
The Constituent Assembly met for 166 days for two years, 11 months, and 18 days before the Constitution was finally adopted.
The members of the Constituent Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document on 24 January 1950 and two days later, it became the law of the land.
Significance
The Constitution Day is celebrated as a mark of tribute to India's first Law Minister BR Ambedkar, who played a pivotal role in drafting the Indian Constitution.
What is the Constitution of India
The Constitution is a set of written principles and precedents of the Government of India that frames fundamental political principles, procedures, rights, directive principles, restrictions, and duties of the government and the citizens of the country.
It declares India to be a sovereign, secular, socialist, and democratic republic and assures its citizens' equality, liberty, and justice.
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