Republic Day 2024: The significance of January 24 and January 25 in Indian history

Republic Day 2024: We all are aware that India accepted its own constitution on 26 January 1950, the day that is celebrated with grandeur as Republic Day in the country. But prior to this day, on January 24 and 25, significant events took place in Indian history that were as important as January 26 in making India a sovereign state.

On January 24, the song Jana Gana Mana was adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India. The song was originally composed in Bangla by poet Rabindranath Tagore and its Hindi version was adopted as the National Anthem of the country.

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On the other hand, on January 25, the Election Commission of India was established as a constitutional body that conducted India’s first election in 1951. Both these events are major rungs in the ladder of India becoming a republic.

Take a little sneak peek into history:

January 24: Jana Gana Mana adopted as the National Anthem of India

The adoption of "Jana Gana Mana" as the National Anthem of India took place on 24 January 24 1950. On this day, the Constituent Assembly of India officially chose the composition written and composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as the country's National Anthem.

It was a significant moment in India's history as it marked the formal recognition of the song, originally called ‘Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata’ in Bengali, as a symbol of the nation. Notably, only the first stanza of the song was adopted as the National Anthem.

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The formal rendition of the national anthem takes approximately 52 seconds.

The song may have been adopted as the National Anthem in 1950, but it was first sung publicly way back in 1911 at the Calcutta (now Kolkata) session of the Indian National Congress on December 27.

The anthem rightly conveys the spirit of pluralism or the concept of 'unity in diversity', which lies at the core of India's cultural heritage.

January 25: Formation of the Election Commission of India

On 25 January 1950, the Election Commission of India (ECI) was formally established as a constitutional body to conduct and regulate elections in the country. The day is now observed as National Voters Day every yearsince 2011.

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Originally, there was only one Chief Election Commissioner of ECI. It was only in 1989, that two additional Election Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time.

The Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common to both the Central government and the state governments.

(With inputs from agencies)