January 26, 1950: How India observed its first Republic Day

On the eve of the 75th Republic Day, we look back at the chilly January morning in 1950, when India became a republic.

The inaugural Republic Day parade at the Irwin Ampitheatre. The Purana Qila is in the backdrop. (Twitter/@HardeepSPuri)

4 min readNew DelhiJan 26, 2024 11:38 AM IST First published on: Jan 25, 2024 at 07:08 PM IST

On January 26, 1950, the Republic of India was born. More than two years after Independence, and after nearly a century of nationalist struggle, India was finally a sovereign, democratic republic, free to chart its own course into the future.

On the eve of the 75th Republic Day, we remember the chilly January morning in 1950 when India became a republic.

Dominion to republic

Although British rule in India ended on August 15, 1947, India was yet to sever all ties with the Empire. For over two years after Independence, India remained a British dominion, governed by the British-era Government of India Act of 1935, and officially still owing allegiance to the Crown.

All this changed on January 26, 1950. On that day, the newly drafted Constitution of India came into effect, replacing the Act of 1935 as the supreme governing document of the country. Dr Rajendra Prasad began his first term as the President of India, replacing the British monarch as the ceremonial head of the state.

And finally, the Constituent Assembly, which had drafted the constitution over a period of roughly three years, became the Parliament of India until the first general elections would take place in 1951-52.

A ceremonial parade

Military parades are symbolic expressions of state authority and prestige. During the British Raj, royal parades and processions were common occurrences, projecting colonial power to Indians and the world.

The new republic decided to continue with this tradition — and reclaim it for Indians. Thus, since 1950, Republic Day celebrations have been headlined by a military parade in New Delhi, which has become ever grander and more spectacular over the years.

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The 1950 parade was held in the Irwin Ampitheatre opposite the Purana Qila, now known as the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. President Dr Rajendra Prasad inspected the parade, and Indonesia President Sukarno was the chief guest.

President Rajendra Prasad on his way to the Irwin Ampitheatre for the first Republic Day parade. (Government of India)

According to historian Ramachandra Guha, more than 3,000 men of the armed forces marched in front of the president. (India After Gandhi, 2007). The parade saw participation of marching contingents from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Delhi Police.

After inspection of the parade by the President, the Artillery, deployed behind the East Stand, fired a 31-gun salute, in three instalments. Between these instalments, the parade fired a ‘Feu-de-joie’ or the fire of joy — a formal celebratory gunfire — thrice, and then gave three ‘jais’ to the President of the Republic. Indian Air Force’s Liberator planes flew overhead, to cap the spectacle.

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After the last massed bands had marched past, the President’s horse-drawn carriage entered the stadium, flanked by the President’s Bodyguard on horses (a tradition which continues till date). After the Bodyguard saluted the President, Dr Prasad entered his carriage and headed back to Government House (now Rashtrapati Bhawan).

Dignitaries at the first Republic Day parade in 1950. (Government of India)

Describing the day’s events, Guha wrote: “Gandhi’s India was announcing itself as a sovereign nation-state.”

But a job not done

While January 26 was indeed a day of celebrations, the leaders of the nascent country knew that they had a hard task ahead. As Dr B R Ambedkar, chairman of the Constituent Assembly’s drafting committee, remarked in his final Constituent Assembly speech on November 26, 1949:

“On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality… We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so laboriously built up.”