Constitution Day, 2025

Why in News?

President Droupadi Murmu recently released the digital version of the Constitution of India in 9 languages during Constitution Day celebrations at Samvidhan Sadan in New Delhi.

• Date - Constitution Day also known as 'Samvidhan Divas', is celebrated in our country on 26^th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.
• Theme - "Hamara Samvidhan – Hamara Swabhiman" ("Our Constitution – Our Pride"), with a focus on constitutional values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.
• Digital Initiatives - The 9 languages in which the digital version of the Constitution was released were Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Bodo, Kashmiri, Telugu, Odia and Assamese.
• It is the first time that the Bodo and Kashmiri editions of the Constitution are being introduced in the history of India.
• The Punjabi edition of the Constitution is also being updated after almost 50 years.

Constitution of India

• On 26^th November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect from 26th January 1950.
• The Constitution of India was framed by a Constituent Assembly set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.
• The Assembly held its first meeting on December 9, 1946, and elected Dr. Sachhidanand Sinha, the oldest member of the Assembly as the Provisional President.
• On December 11, 1946, the Assembly elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as its permanent Chairman.
• The Constituent Assembly set up 13 committees for framing the constitution, including a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. 
• Based on the reports of these committees, a draft of the Constitution was prepared by a seven-member Drafting Committee.
• It is the longest written Constitution in the world, containing 395 Articles, 22 Parts, and 12 Schedules.
• The Constitution of India was not typeset or printed but was handwritten and calligraphic in both English and Hindi.
• It was entirely handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose, with the calligraphy texts done by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in Delhi.
• When the Constitution was adopted in the year 1949, there were no provisions regarding Fundamental Duties to the Citizens, though there was a Part III for Fundamental Rights.
• The Fundamental Duties of citizens were added to the Constitution upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee that was constituted by the Government.
• By way of the 42^nd Constitution (Amendment) Act, 1976, a new Chapter IV-A, which consists of only one Article i.e 51-A was added which dealt with a Code of 10 Fundamental Duties for citizens.
• Later on, by virtue of 86^th Constitution the Amendment in year 2002, 11^th duty was added.

Reference

The Indian Express | Constitution Day