Constitution Day 2021: All you need to know about date, history and significance of National law day

Representational image. Pixabay

Constitution Day, also known as National Law Day, is observed annually on 26 November to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India. The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India on 26 November, 1949, and it came into force on 26 January 1950, which is celebrated in the country as Republic Day.

This year the Constitution Day will be celebrated in the central hall of the Parliament as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. President Ram Nath Kovind will preside the event which will be graced by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and other dignitaries.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also launched an online course on the subject of the Indian Constitution on 25 November, as part of the celebrations for Constitution Day.

#WatchLive

Launching online course to learn about India’s Constitution as part of the #ConstitutionDay celebrations.
#AzadiKaAmritMahotsav @pib_lawhttps://t.co/rB2UeaAnar

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) November 25, 2021

Why is 26 November celebrated as Constitution Day?

The Union Cabinet announced in May 2015 that Constitution Day will be marked on 26 November to promote the constitutional values amongst countrymen.

Significance of the day:

In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the observance of 26 November as the Constitution Day. The announcement was made as part of the year-long celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar. The day aims to bring awareness to the importance of the Indian Constitution as well as its main architect, Dr B R Ambedkar.

History:

The Constituent Assembly, which was the body meant to draft the Constitution, conducted its first session on 9 December, 1946. The Assembly took almost three years to draft the document, out of which more than 114 days were spent finalizing the content of the draft alone.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the then prime minister, moved the “Objectives Resolution” on 13 December 1946, which was later adopted as the Preamble on January 22, 1947.

Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee, which was among the over 17 committees of the Constituent Assembly. The task was to prepare a Draft Constitution of the country. This Committee discarded 2,400 amendments out of 7,600 amendments tabled.