THE MEANING OF REPUBLIC DAY ! The Constitution was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950.The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. With its adoption, the Union of India officially became the modern and contemporary Republic of India and it replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. The Constitution declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity among them. The words "socialist" and "secular" were added to the definition in 1976 by constitutional amendment. India celebrates the adoption of the constitution on 26 January each year as Republic Day  Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, chiefly responsible for drafting of The Constitution of India and a champion of human rights was born on the 14th April, 1891. After graduating from Elfinstone College, Bombay in 1912, he joined Columbia University, USA where he was awarded Ph.D. Later he joined the London School of Economics & obtained a degree of D.Sc. ( Economics) & was called to the Bar from Gray's Inn.

 On his return to India in 1923, he founded 'Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha' with the main objective of spreading education & improving the economic conditions of the depressed classes. With the slogan of 'Educate-Agitate- Organize', the social movement led by Dr. Ambedkar aimed at Annihilation of Caste & the Reconstruction of Indian Society on the basis of equality of human beings.  In 1927, he led the march at Mahad, Maharashtra to establish the rights of the untouchables to taste water from the Public Chawdar Lake', traditionally prohibited to them. This marked the beginning of anti-caste & anti-priest movement. The temple entry movement launched by Dr. Ambedkar in 1930 at the Kalaram Temple, Nashik, Maharashtra is another landmark in the struggle for human rights & political justice. Dr. Ambedkar held the view that "Only political power cannot be a panacea for the ills of the depressed classes. Their salvation lies in their social elevation". As a Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from July 1942 he was instrumental in bringing about several legislative measures to protect the rights of labourers & workers.  One of the greatest contributions of Dr. Ambedkar was in respect of Fundamental Rights & Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Constitution of India. The Fundamental Rights provide for freedom, equality, and abolition of Untouchability & remedies to ensure the enforcement of rights. The Directive Principles enshrine the broad guiding principles for securing fair distribution of wealth & better living conditions.

 On the 14th October, 1956, Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism. He continued the crusade for social revolution until the end of his life on the 6thDecember 1956. He was honoured with the highest national honour, 'Bharat Ratna' in April 1990 . Advice  We are celebrating our 61st Republic Day on this day. However, a lot of youngsters are unaware of the importance of this day — as to what really happened on this day in 1950. Many others do not know the difference between Republic Day and Independence Day. Thankfully, some had a vague idea while others remained content in the fact that it was yet another holiday. We also came across a few students who actually knew what the day meant for the country and for them.  “Republic Day is an important day for every Indian. It is on this day that the Indian Constitution was adopted. This was the day when our rights and duties were brought to a concrete form. It holds a lot of value in every Indian’s heart and mind. India’s Constitution was displayed to the world on this day. Many great scholars and freedom fighters have put in their efforts to draft our Constitution”. It is on this day that many things like fundamental rights, preamble, the duties of the Union and states were all put together in a clear-cut manner. Dr Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution. People like Sachidananda Sinha and K M Munshi have put in a lot of work for the Constitution. “Independence Day is the day when India got separated from Pakistan and Republic Day is all about our Constitution coming into being.  The Constitution, in its current form (March 2011), consists of a preamble, 22 parts containing 450 articles, 12 schedules, 2 appendices and 96 amendments to date. Although it is federal in nature it also has a strong unitary bias.

 As of January 2012 there have been 115 amendment bills presented in the Parliament, out of which 115 have been passed to become Amendment Acts. Most of these amendments address issues dealt with by statute in other democracies. However, the Constitution is so specific in spelling out government powers that many of these issues must be addressed by constitutional amendment. As a result, the document is amended roughly twice a year. Bolo Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Vande Mataram !