As we are rushing to the Press, we feel elated that the Republic Day is coming nigh. Preparations for this festive occasion are in full swing. The full-dress rehearsal for the Republic Day paradein Delhi is going on. Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory on the arrangements and restrictions forsmooth passage of the parade. This is what we see usually every year. But the Republic Day this year is likely to prove different because this is the year just ahead of 2024, when the nation will go for the general elections.
Yes, there will be some new performances in the celebrations of the Republic Day. But there will be no difference in the flag hoisting, marches, parades, and tableaux, in fact in the showcase of national military might, etc. save and except the thematic difference. We are celebrating the Republic Day amidst some political developments like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and formation of Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) by Chief Minister of Telangana K. Chandrashekar Rao in the presence of various Chief Ministers, which have posed serious challenges to the party in power at the Centre.
The Republic Day is the celebration of the Day when the Constitution of India was put into force. The Constitution was enacted and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949. But it was made effective two months later, on 26th January 1950,just to mark that day in 1930 when India resolved to win complete freedom. So, in a sense it is celebration of Purna Swaraj Day.
We are celebrating the Republic Day when debates on whether the Constitution or the Parliament is supreme are going on, when reports of violation of various constitutional and democratic rights are making headlines, and when the very sanctity of the Constitution is questioned. In the BJP-ruled State of Karnataka we have seen how the right to education of the girls of Muslim minority has been sabotaged. How the members of minority communities, especially Muslims and Christians are facing threats to their places of worship, to their practice of respective religious rites and in fact to their right to live with dignity. Opposition is the backbone of a democracy; but we see opposition parties are being silenced, their right to dissent is not honoured. And how majoritarianism is allowed to rule the roost. This is the sad saga of the Republic. We strongly hope the President of India, Srimati Droupadi Murmu will address these issues in her Republic Day Address to the nation.