IN PICS! January 26 was celebrated as India's Independence Day from 1930 to 1946, Check out why

Republic Day honours the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India and thus, turning the nation into a newly formed Republic.

January 26 was celebrated as India's Independence Day from 1930 to 1946. January 26, 1930, was set as the date for independence after the Congress, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, declared "Purna Swaraj", or Complete Independence, as its ultimate goal in Lahore in December 1929.

Also, Jawaharlal Nehru had warned the British on behalf of the Congress that India would be declared an independent country if the British did not recognize India's autonomy by January 26, 1930. Accordingly, the Congress declared January 26, 1930 as Independence Day. Twenty years later, the Constituent Assembly chose January 26 as the date for enforcement of Constitution.

After the country finally gained independence, August 15 was declared the official Independence Day of India. 26 January was chosen as the date for Republic day because it was on this day in 1929 when the Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime.

The Constituent Assembly was formed after India gained independence on 15th August 1947. After that, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar worked hard for almost 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to draft the largest written constitution in the world. On 26 January 1950, it came into effect throughout the whole nation.

There are two written copies of the Constitution of India in Hindi and English. Copies of this constitution have been placed in Parliament.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad were the leading members of the Drafting Committee.