November 26 marks the annual celebration of the Constitution Day of India. It is also known as the National Law Day or Samvidhan Diwas as it was on this day in 1949 when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India. Then, from January 26, 1950, the Constitution of India came into effect as it marked the Republic Day. Interestingly, those 2 months (between adoption and enforcement of the Constitution), were dedicated to thorough reading and translation (from English to Hindi) of the draft. There were two hand-written copies of the document that were signed by the Constituent Assembly members on January 24, 1950. In the same year, this became the law of India two days on January 26. Why is it celebrated? It was in 2015, October 11 while laying the foundation stone of B. R. Ambedkar’s (the Father of the Constitution of India) Statue of Equality memorial, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that November 26 will be observed as the Constitution Day of India. The year 2015 marked Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary.
As a tribute to the legendary man, the government came up with this idea to make it memorable. On November 19, 2015, the Government of India officially declared the same to be celebrated as the Constitution Day of India by issuing a gazette notification. The significance of this national observance lies in making people aware of the value of the constitution and spreading the ideals and ideas of Ambedkar. This revolutionary figure was appointed as the chairman of the constitution drafting committee on August 29, 1947. In 2020, President Kovind read the Preamble as a part of the celebration. This year, too, the President will lead the celebration in the Central Hall of Parliament.