Republic Day - 26th January 2009

Dear Elders, Office bearers, EC Members & Members of Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar Welfare Association….., Wishes and Greetings to you all in the wake of the 59th Republic Day.

We all know that…
26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. In this day India became a totally republican unit. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. So, the 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and has been recognized and celebrated as the Republic Day of India, ever since.

We need to remember that …
Although India obtained its independence on August 15, 1947, the Constitution of India came into effect only on January 26, 1950. During the transition period from 1947 to 1950, King George VI was the head of country. C. Rajagopalachari served as the Governor-General of India during this period. Following January 26, 1950, Rajendra Prasad was elected as the president of India..

To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, New Delhi, from the Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace), along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort. The different regiments of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. Parades demonstrating the cultures of the various states and regions of India are also held and broadcast nationwide on television. The parade also includes vibrant displays and floats and traditionally ends with a flypast by Indian Air Force jets.

Celebrations are also held in state capitals, where the governor of the state unfurls the national flag. If the Governor of the state is unwell, or is unavailable for some reason, the Chief Minister of the state assumes the honor of unfurling the National Flag of India.

Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country. Then, the President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valor in different situations.

The patriotic fervor of the people on this day brings the whole country together even in her essential diversity. Every part of the country is represented in occasion, which makes the Republic Day the most popular of all the national holidays of India.

Jai Hind

Y. Babji, President,
SR Nagar Welfare Association

Independence Day - 15th August 2008

Dear Elders, Office bearers, EC Members & Members of SR Nagar Welfare Association,

Wishes and Greetings to you all in the wake of the 61st Independence Day.

We all know that
India's Independence Day is celebrated on August 15 every year to commemorate the independence from the British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947. It is celebrated all over the country through flag-hoisting ceremony and distribution of sweets. The main celebration takes place in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister hoists the National Flag at the Red Fort and delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts. The Prime Minister also pays his tribute to leaders of the freedom struggle. In every state and territory of the Indian Union, the Chief Minister concerned will hoist the National Flag.

We need to remember that
On 3 June 1947, Viscount Lord Louis Mount batten, the last British Governor-General of India, announced the partitioning of the British Indian Empire into India and Pakistan, under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947. At the stroke of midnight, on 15 August 1947, India became an independent nation. This was preceded by Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru's famous speech titled Tryst with destiny.

Quote
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.”
Unquote

The then Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel invited Lord Mount batten to continue as Governor General of India. He was replaced in June 1948 by Chakravarti Rajgopalachari. Patel took on the responsibility of unifying 565 princely states, steering efforts by his “iron fist in a velvet glove” policies, exemplified by the use of military force to integrate Junagadh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Hyderabad state into India.

We also need to remember that
The Constituent Assembly completed the work of drafting the constitution on 26 November 1949; on 26 January 1950 the Republic of India was officially proclaimed. The Constituent Assembly elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India, taking over from Governor General Rajgopalachari. Subsequently, a free and sovereign India absorbed two other territories: Goa (liberated from Portuguese control in 1961) and Pondicherry (which the French ceded in 1954). In 1952, India held its first general elections, with a voter turnout exceeding 62%; in practice, this made India the world's largest democratic country in the history of the modern and ancient world.

In celebrating Independence Day, normally the Offices are lit up in the wake and on the eve of 15th Aug with Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs in all the state capitals. In the cities, towns and villages around the country people’s representatives belonging to that area do the Flag Hoisting Ceremony. In various private organisations a senior officer of that organisation carries out the Flag Hoisting Ceremony. Schools and colleges around the country organize flag hoisting ceremony and various cultural activities within their respective premises. Housing colonies, cultural centres, clubs and societies do celebrate Independence Day.

It is a customary to remember those Indian Leaders, Activists and Freedom Fighters who laid their lives in liberating India from alien rulers and also who have sown the seeds of development of India.

They are
Ashfaqulla Khan, Aravinda Ghos, Dr Annie Besant, Allamah Iqbal, Dr BR Ambedkhar, Bhagat Singh, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bhulabhai Desai, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bagha Jatin Mukherjee, Chittaranjan Das, Chakravarthy Rajagopalachari, Chandra Sekhar Azad, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinesh Gupta, Gobind Vallabh Pant, Gopalakrishna Gokhale, Jayaprakash Narayan, Jawaharlal Nehru, JB Kriplani, K Kamaraj, Kulapati Munshi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Khudiram Bose, Lala Lajpat Rao, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Mahadeo Govind Ranade, Motilal Nehru, Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mani Lal Gandhi, Mangal Pandey, Purushottam Das Tandon, Rajendra Prasad, Ram Manohar Lohi, Rash Behari Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Ram Prasad Bismil, Senapati Bapat, S Satya Murti, Shivaram Rajguru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sukhdev, Sarojini Naidu, Surendranath Benerjee, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishna, Tantiya Tope, Vinobha Bhave, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Vallabh Bhai Patel, VO Chidambaram Pillai, Dr Zakir Hussain and many unsung heroes

Once again, let us remember Mahatma Gandhi and recollect what is his meaning of Independence

Quote
Independence means voluntary restraints and discipline,
Independence means voluntary acceptance of the rule of law.
Unquote

Jai Hind

Y. Babji,
President, SR Nagar Welfare Association