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Why is January 26 celebrated as India’s Republic Day?

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Flag of India — India The Indian flag is also called the tricolor. The top band is saffron in color (signifying courage), the middle band is white (signifying peace and truth), and the bottom band is green (signifying fertility and growth). The wheel in the middle depicts the wheel of the law in the lion capital in Sarnath that Mauryan emperor Ashoka created.

India celebrates Republic Day on January 26 to commemorate the date in 1950 when the Constitution of India officially came into effect, marking the nation's transition into a sovereign democratic republic.12

The selection of this specific date was a deliberate choice made to honor the historic Purna Swaraj ("Complete Self-Rule") resolution. On January 26, 1930, the Indian National Congress publicly declared this resolution, which decisively rejected the prospect of dominion status within the British Empire and established full sovereignty as the primary goal of the independence movement.12

Although India achieved independence on August 15, 1947, the date of January 26 remained deeply significant to the national consciousness. By timing the promulgation of the constitution to coincide with the anniversary of the 1930 declaration, the leaders of the Constituent Assembly ensured that the birth of the republic was permanently linked to the foundational struggle for complete self-governance.132