Arjun Sengupta
Since 1950, 26 January commemorates the day when the Constitution of India came into force. However, the Constituent Assembly had already prepared the constitution before the officially fixed date of 26 November 1949. Then why do we celebrate our Republic Day on 26 January? The answer lies in the history of the Indian freedom struggle, which dates back to 1930.
On January 26, 1930, the historic “Purna Swaraj” declaration was officially proclaimed, marking the beginning of the final phase of India’s freedom struggle, where the goal was complete independence from British rule.
1920s context
In February 1922, after the Chauri-Chaura incident, the non-cooperation movement came to an abrupt end. Mahatma Gandhi felt at the time that the country was “not yet ready” for his non-violent methods of protest. Thus, the 1920s did not see the same mobilization on target as seen during the Non-Cooperation Movement and the anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha.
The decade of the 1920s was far from insignificant. From the rise of revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad to a new generation of Indian National Congress (INC) leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Vallabhai Patel and C. Rajagopalachari, the 1920s shaped the future of India’s freedom struggle. prepared the ground for the course of
Notably, in 1927, the British authorities appointed the Simon Commission – a seven-member European team under Sir John Simon – to deliberate on political reforms in India. This caused a wave of resentment and discontent across the country. For the first time since 1922, protests against the Simon Commission spread across the country, with slogans of “Simon go back”.
Indian leaders formed their own commission against the Simon Commission.
In response, the INC appointed its own commission under Motilal Nehru. The Nehru Report demanded that India be given dominion status within the empire. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 defined the dominions as “autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subject to each other in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, although were united by a common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Dominion status was given to countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand in 1926.
On the other hand the Declaration of Independence was officially declared on January 26, 1930. The Congress urged Indians to come out and celebrate “Azadi” on that day. The Indian tricolor was unfurled across the country by Congress party workers and patriotic songs were sung as the country reworked its strategy for independence. The resolution also contained an endorsement of Gandhian methods of non-violent protest, which would begin almost immediately after Poorna Swaraj Day was celebrated.
In India in the Shadow of Empire, historian Mithi Mukherjee writes that the Purna Swaraj declaration was an important pivot point for India’s freedom struggle. This is accompanied by the declaration that India’s national movement “shifted from the language of charity to the language of justice.”
Republic Day in post-independence India
From the 1930s until India finally gained its independence in 1947, 26 January was celebrated as “Independence Day” or “Purna Swaraj Day”, the day Indians reaffirmed their commitment to sovereignty.
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