Indian national holiday on 26 November
Constitution Day
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Original text of the Preamble of the Indian constitution
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Official name
| Samvidhan Divas
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Also called
| National Law Day
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Observed by
| India
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Significance
| India adopted its constitution in 1950
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Celebrations
| Constitution-related activities in schools, Run for Equality, Special Parliamentary Session
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Begins
| 1950
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Date
| 26 November
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Next time
| 26 November 2024
(
2024-11
)
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Frequency
| annual
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First time
| 2015
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Related to
| Constitution of India
,
Republic Day (India)
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Constitution Day
(
IAST
:
Samvidh?na Divasa
), also known as "
National Law Day"
, is celebrated in
India
on 26 November every year to commemorate the adoption of the
Constitution of India
. On 26 November 1949, the
Constituent Assembly of India
adopted to the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
[1]
The Government of India declared 26 November as Constitution Day on 19 November 2015 by a gazette notification. The Prime Minister of India
Narendra Modi
made the declaration on 11 October 2015 while laying the foundation stone of the
B. R. Ambedkar
's
Statue of Equality
memorial in
Mumbai
.
[2]
The year of 2021 was the 131st birth anniversary of Ambedkar, who had chaired the drafting committee of the Constituent Assembly and played a pivotal role in the drafting of the constitution.
[1]
Previously this day was celebrated as Law Day.
[3]
26 November was chosen to spread the importance of the constitution and to spread thoughts and ideas of Ambedkar. PM Modi Speech On National Law Day 2021, 26 November, and also The President, Vice President and Lok Sabha Speaker also addressed the program.
[4]
[5]
Background
[
edit
]
Since 2015 was the 125th birth anniversary year of
B. R. Ambedkar
(14 April 1891 ? 6 December 1956), who is known as the father of the Indian constitution, the government decided in May 2015 to celebrate this year "in a big way".
[6]
[7]
[8]
A special committee chaired by
Prime Minister of India
was announced for year-long celebrations. Various programmes will be held by various ministries and departments throughout the year to spread thoughts and ideas of Ambedkar.
[7]
[9]
As part of the celebrations while laying foundation stone for an Ambedkar memorial at the Indu Mills compounds in Mumbai in October 2015, the Prime Minister of India
Narendra Modi
announced that 26 November will be celebrated as "Constitution Day".
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
In November 2015, the government officially announced celebration of the day.
[14]
Celebrations
[
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]
Constitution Day is not a public holiday. Various departments of the
Government of India
celebrated the first Constitution day. As per the Department of Education and Literacy, the preamble of the constitution was read in all schools by all students. In addition, there were quiz and essay competitions both online and offline on the subject of the constitution of India. There was a lecture on salient features of the constitution in each school. The Department of Higher Education requested various universities to arrange mock parliamentary debates in colleges, and the
University Grants Commission
(UGC) arranged an all-India quiz competition at
Ambedkar University, Lucknow
, where quiz winners of all states participated.
[14]
The
Ministry of External Affairs
directed all overseas Indian schools to celebrate 26 November as Constitution Day and directed embassies to translate the constitution into the local language of that nation and distribute it to various academies, libraries and faculties of
Indology
. The work of translating the Indian constitution into
Arabic
has been completed.
[14]
[15]
Department of Sport arranged symbolic run named "Run for Equality".
[14]
[16]
There was also a special session of
Indian parliament
on 26 November 2015 to give tribute to the constitution and Ambedkar. The
Parliament House
complex was also illuminated on this occasion.
[14]
Students of
Andhra University
participated in the 'Run for Ambedkar' rally to mark the occasion of the 70th Constitution Day, on Beach Road in
Visakhapatnam
on 27 November 2019.
[17]
In 2023 celebration of the Constitution Day,
[18]
the
Government of Manipur
under the leadership of
Nongthombam Biren Singh
, the then
Chief Minister of Manipur
, officially issued the
bilingual edition of the Constitution of India
, in the
Meetei Mayek
(
Meitei
for 'traditional Meitei writing system') in
Meitei language
(officially called
Manipuri
) and English,
[19]
[20]
[21]
in the Cabinet Hall of the Chief Minister Secretariat in
Imphal
,
[22]
having the contents up to the
105th Amendment of the Constitution
,
[23]
[19]
becoming the publication of the first time of its kind in its history.
[23]
It was made to be accessible to everyone in all the educational institutions, government offices, and public libraries across the state of
Manipur
.
[24]
See also
[
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References
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]
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National holidays
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Central holidays
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State holidays
(differ by states)
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