Although Independence Day and Republic Day are both national holidays, there is a world of difference between them—for Independence Day is to remember the past, but Republic Day is a day of the present and the future.

One thing that most remember about Republic Day is that the Constitution came into existence and was officially presented on that day.

Cutting short history lessons, did you know that there were a number of interesting facts about the Indian Constitution and Republic day?

The Constitution of India was handwritten and calligraphed in both English and Hindi-- not typeset or printed. The original copies are kept in special helium-filled cases in the Library of the Parliament of India.

84 members of the Constituent Assembly (which included 15 women) signed the hand-written documents on January 24, 1950 and it came into force on January 26 the same year.

It was raining outside the Parliament on the day the Constitution was signed, and it was considered a good omen by the people who signed it.

The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to draft the Indian Constitution after the Drafting Committee submitted it to them.

The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to draft the Indian Constitution after the Drafting Committee submitted it to them.

The Indian constitution is often called a bag of borrowings—it has taken various features and parts from other constitutions. The concepts of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity was taken from the French constitution, the concept of 5 year plans was taken from the USSR, the Directive principles (socio-economic rights) were taken from Ireland, the law on which the Supreme Court functions was taken from Japan and a lot more other concepts were borrowed from other countries.

In 62 years, India’s constitution has been hailed as one of the world’s best constitution especially since it has only seen 94 amendments.

The national emblem of India (the adapted version of Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka with the wheel, bull, and horse) was adopted by the Government on 26 January, 1950.

The hymn “Abide with Me” is played on Republic day as it was Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite songs.

Republic Day is celebrated for 3 days, with the Beating the Retreat marking the end of celebrations on January 29.