Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas)

India will be celebrating Constitution Day or Samvidhan Diwas on Thursday (November 26).   

Constitution Day is celebrated in India on November 26 every year. On this day, back in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect on January 26, 1950.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 19th November 2015 notified the decision of the Government of India to celebrate the 26th day of November every year as ‘Constitution Day’ to promote Constitution values among citizens.

It is also a mark of tribute to Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the first law minister of India, who played an important role in the framing of the Indian Constitution. 

Here are certain important facts that we need to know about the Constitution:

1. The Constitution of India was drafted between December 1946 and December 1949 – the most challenging period. This was the time when religious riots, caste wars, and entrenched gender inequality were threatening the social fabric of the country.

2. Constitution of India lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens.

3. It was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies. The 389 member Constituent Assembly took two years, eleven months and seventeen days to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India. During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution. On August 29, 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B R Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.

5. Since the Indian Constitution came into the act, the females in India got the right to vote.

6. It is also known as ‘bag of borrowings’ as it has borrowed several ideas from other countries.

Constitution Day, also known as Samvidhan Divas, is celebrated in India on 26 November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.

The Constitution day was first celebrated in 2015 as a mark of tribute to India’s first Law Minister Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who played a pivotal role in the drafting of the Indian Constitution. The declaration regarding the same was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 11, 2015, while laying the foundation stone of Statue of Equality in Mumbai.

November 26, which was earlier celebrated as Law Day, marks the day when India had adopted its Constitution back in 1949, more than two years after attaining independence from the British rule. The Constitution came into effect next year on 26 January, 1950, so as to commemorate the pledge of Purna Swaraj, passed in the Lahore session of the Congress on this day in 1930.