Happy Republic Day

26th January is the Indian Republic Day. A very important day for Indians. Thought I should share a detailed article on the same :

Also go through the following photos for more infomation : India Calling

Introduction

August 15, 1947 saw the birth of Independent India marking the beginning of the end of Colonial rule. It was on 26th of November, 1949 that the Constituent Assembly adopted, enacted and gave to the nation the Indian Constitution with the following preamble:
We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them allFRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.
In our Constituent Assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.
To a people beset by caste, class and gender oppression, the Constitution of India held out the hope of equality; to a country plagued by violence and the political exploitation of religious difference, it promised secularism and the rule of law.
Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential address to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of the country. Then, the President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also to the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations.
To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, from the Rajghat, along the Vijaypath. The different regiments of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force march past in all their finery and official decorations. Even the horses of the cavalry are attractively caparisoned to suit the occasion. The crème of N.C.C cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, to the essential props and their uniforms.
The parade is followed by a pageant of spectacular displays from the different states of the country. These moving exhibits depict scenes of activities of people in those states and the music and songs of that particular state accompany each display. Each display brings out the diversity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion. The parade and the ensuing pageantry is telecast by the National Television and is watched by millions of viewers in every corner of the country.
As Indians, let us pledge to uphold the promise of the Constitution and conduct ourselves in such a manner that we can be proud of our country, our heritage and proud to be known as Indians all over the world. We must be proud of our culture, traditions, customs, religions, languages, social norms and the individual distinctiveness that makes India a wonderful multi-cultural country.



Jana-Gana-Mana(Thou Art the Ruler of All Minds) The Indian National anthem, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24th January 1950. It was first sung on 27th December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. Tagore himself rendered the lyrics into English.
NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA :
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage, Tava shubha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

English Translation of The National Anthem
Thou are the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India's destiny.The name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha. Of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal.It echoes in the hills of Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.They pray for your blessing and sing thy praise. The salvation of all people is thy hand, thou dispenser of India's destiny. Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.

The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.
The following is the text of its first stanza.....
Vande Mataram! Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram! Shubhrajyothsna pulakitayaminim, Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim, Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim, Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!

English translation of our National Song
The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose 1 is: I bow to thee, Mother, richly-watered, richly-fruited, cool with the winds of the south, dark with the crops of the harvests, The Mother! Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight, her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom, sweet of laughter, sweet of speech, The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.

There are around 22 languages recognized by the Indian Constitution. These languages are :· Assamese · Bengali · Bodo · Dogri · Gujarati · Hindi · Kannada · Kashmiri · Konkani · Maithili · Malayalam · Manipuri · Marathi · Nepali · Oriya · Punjabi · Sanskrit · Santhali · Sindhi · Tamil · Telugu · Urdu
Hindi is the official and main link language of India. Its homeland is mainly in the north of India, but it is spoken and widely understood in all urban centers of India. It is written in the Devanagri script, which is phonetic and, unlike English, is pronounced as it is written. Hindi is a direct descendant of Sanskrit through Prakrit and Apabhramsha. It has been influenced and enriched by Dravidian, Turkish, Farsi, Arabic, Portugese and English. It is a very expressive language. In poetry and songs, it can convey emotions using simple and gentle words. It can also be used for exact and rational reasoning.

1858 India comes under direct rule of the British crown after failed Indian mutiny.
1885 Indian National Congress founded as forum for emerging nationalist feeling.
1920-22 Nationalist figurehead Mahatma Gandhi launches anti-British civil disobedience campaign.
1942-43 Congress launches "Quit India" movement.
1947 End of British rule and partition of sub-continent into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority state of Pakistan.
Newly independent
1947-48 hundreds of thousands die in widespread communal bloodshed after partition.
1948 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Hindu extremist.
1948 War with Pakistan over disputed territory of Kashmir.
1951-52 Congress Party wins first general elections under leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Regional tensions
1962 India loses brief border war with China.
1964 Death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
1965 Second war with Pakistan over Kashmir.
1966 Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi becomes prime minister.
1971 Third war with Pakistan over creation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan.
1971 Twenty-year treaty of friendship signed with Soviet Union.
1974 India explodes first nuclear device in underground test.
Democratic strains
1975 Indira Gandhi declares state of emergency after being found guilty of electoral malpractice.
1975-1977 Nearly 1,000 political opponents imprisoned and programme of compulsory birth control introduced.
1977 Indira Gandhi's Congress Party loses general elections.
1980 Indira Gandhi returns to power heading Congress party splinter group, Congress (Indira).
1984 Troops storm Golden Temple - Sikh's most holy shrine - to flush out Sikh militants pressing for self-rule.
1984 Gas leak at Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal. Thousands are killed immediately; many more subsequently die or are left disabled.
1987 India deploys troops for peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict.
1989 Falling public support leads to Congress defeat in general election.
1990 Indian troops withdrawn from Sri Lanka.
1990 Muslim separatist groups begin campaign of violence in Kashmir.
1991 Shri Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by suicide bomber sympathetic to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers.
1991 Economic reform programme begun by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.
1992 Hindu extremists demolish mosque in Ayodhya, triggering widespread Hindu-Muslim violence.
BJP to the fore
1996 Congress suffers worst ever electoral defeat as Hindu nationalist BJP emerges as largest single party.
1998 BJP forms coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
1998 Hindu extremists demolish mosque in Ayodhya, triggering widespread Hindu-Muslim violence.
1998 India carries out nuclear tests, leading to widespread international condemnation.
1999 FebruaryVajpayee makes historic bus trip to Pakistan to meet Premier Nawaaz Sharif and to sign bilateral Lahore peace declaration.
MayTension in Kashmir leads to brief war with Pakistan-backed forces in the icy heights around Kargil in Indian-held Kashmir.
OctoberCyclone devastates eastern state of Orissa, leaving at least 10,000 dead.
Population: 1 billion
2003 Aug 25Bombay rocked by twin car bombs
2000 May India marks birth of its billionth citizen.
2001 JanuaryMassive earthquakes hit western state of Gujarat, leaving at least 30,000 dead.
AprilSixteen Indian and three Bangladeshi soldiers killed in their worst border clashes. High-powered rocket launched, propelling India into ranks of select club of countries able to fire big satellites deep into space.
JulyVajpayee meets Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the first summit between the two neighbours in more than two years. The meeting ends without a breakthrough or even a joint statement because of differences over Kashmir.
JulyVajpayee's BJP party declines his offer to resign over a number of political scandals and the apparent failure of his talks with Pakistani President Musharraf.
SeptemberUS lifts sanctions which it imposed against India and Pakistan after they staged nuclear tests in 1998. The move is seen as a reward for their support for the US anti-terror campaign.
Kashmir tensions rise
OctoberIndia fires on Pakistani military posts in the heaviest firing along the dividing line of control in Kashmir for almost a year.
DecemberSuicide squad attacks parliament in New Dehli, killing several police. The five gunmen die in the assault.
DecemberIndia imposes sanctions against Pakistan, to force it to take action against two Kashmir militant groups blamed for the suicide attack on parliament. Pakistan retaliates with similar sanctions, and bans the groups in January.
DecemberIndia, Pakistan mass troops on common border amid mounting fears of a looming war.
2002 JanuaryIndia successfully test-fires a nuclear-capable ballistic missile - the Agni - off its eastern coast.
FebruaryWorst inter-religious bloodshed in a decade breaks out after Muslims set fire to a train carrying Hindus returning from pilgrimage to Ayodhya. More than 800, mainly Muslims, die in subsequent revenge killings by Hindu mobs.
MayMore than 30 people killed in raid on Indian army camp in Kashmir, which India blames on Pakistani-based rebels. Moderate Kashmiri separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone shot dead in Srinagar by suspected Islamist militants.
Pakistan test-fires three medium-range surface-to-surface Ghauri missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
War of words between Indian and Pakistani leaders intensifies. Actual war seems imminent.
JuneUK, US urge their citizens to leave India and Pakistan, while maintaining diplomatic offensive to avert war.
JulyRetired scientist and architect of India's missile programme APJ Abdul Kalam elected president.
2003 AugustAt least 50 people are killed in two simultaneous bomb blasts in Bombay.
Kashmir ceasefire
NovemberIndia matches Pakistan's declaration of a Kashmir ceasefire.
DecemberIndia, Pakistan agree to resume direct air links and to allow overflights.
2004 JanuaryGroundbreaking meeting held between government and moderate Kashmir separatists.
MaySurprise victory for Congress Party in general elections. Manmohan Singh is sworn in as Prime Minister
SeptemberIndia, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan, launches an application for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
NovemberIndia begins to withdraw some of its troops from Kashmir.
DecemberFormer Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao dies, aged 83.
Asian tsunami
Thousands are killed when tidal waves, caused by a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian coast, devastate coastal communities in the south and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
2005 7 AprilBus services, the first in 60 years, operate between Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
JulyIndia signs a nuclear co-operation deal with the US, heralding a possible lifting of sanctions on Indian access to civilian nuclear technology.
8 OctoberAn earthquake, with its epicentre in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, kills more than 1,000 people in Indian-administered Kashmir.
29 OctoberBombs kill 62 people in Delhi. A little-known Kashmiri group says it is behind the attacks.
NovemberFormer president KR Narayanan dies at the age of 85.