On 26th November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India. It came into force on 26th January 1950.
26th November was marked as the Constitution Day of India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2015 as a part of year-long celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar. Constitution Day of India aims to bring awareness on the importance of the Indian Constitution and its architect, Dr B R Ambedkar.
Ambedkar was a renowned social reformer, politician and jurist and is also called the Father of Indian Constitution. He was appointed as the chairman of the constitution drafting committee on August 29, 1947.
The day was announced as the Constitution Day November 19, 2015 by the Government of India. The announcement came while laying the foundation stone of the B. R. Ambedkar’s Statue of Equality memorial in Mumbai. The year 2015 also celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar. According to the government notification, Constitution Day was also a tribute to Ambedkar.
While Constitution Day is not a public holiday, various departments of the Government of India celebrate the day. Earlier, the day was commemorated as National Law Day. This was after a resolution was passed by the Supreme Court Bar Association, a lawyers’ body, in 1979.
Prasanta Patnaik