INDIA WILL CELEBRATE HER 61ST REPUBLIC DAY ON JANUARY 26,YET MANY INDIANS ARE UNAWARE ABOUT THE MEANING OF THIS WORD!
India was a free country since 15th August, 1947. However, it did not have the leisure of owning a permanent Constitution. A Drafting Committee was made and after many discussions and modifications, the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24th January, 1950. And thus, the Constitution of India was born two days later, on 26th January, 1950; 10.18 AM IST. Ever since, the day is celebrated nationally as the Republic Day when the country became a sovereign democratic republic with a written constitution and an elected parliament.
26th January, 2011 will mark India’s 61st Republic Day celebrations. It comes as a disgrace that even today, the meaning of the word is vague in the minds of the people. A state in which the final power lies with its people, who elect their representatives to exercise this power, is called a Republic. Also, a Republic has a President as its head, and not a Monarch or any other hereditary head.
The word ‘Republic’ comes from a Latin phrase meaning ‘Res Publica’ which means ‘a public affair’. The idea behind this concept is Italian, mostly appearing in the writings of the scholar named Machiavelli. He supposedly divided the Governments into two types: principalities ruled by a monarch and republics ruled by people.
In most common terms, the word republic means a system of Government which derives its power from the people rather than from another basis, such as heredity or divine right. And the Republic Day reminds us of the fulfillment of the pledge that was made on the midnight of Independence as a ‘tryst with destiny’. It is future-oriented, a vision of India that we nourish, an acceptance of responsibility and making of promises as well as review of the achievements.
The term Republic has a sense of unity, freedom and strength attached to it. However, India continues its fight for real freedom and unity!
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Aditi Rindani 