Speech on Republic Day

Good morning to everyone present here. Today is Republic Day. On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India came into force, and India became a republic. This means that our country is run by rules that we, the people, gave to ourselves, and not by a king. The Constitution gives every Indian equal rights. It also gives us duties. Let us respect our Constitution, our flag and one another. Let us be citizens that our country can be proud of. Thank you. Jai Hind!

Respected Principal, respected teachers and my dear friends, a very good morning to you all. We have gathered here to celebrate Republic Day, one of the proudest days of our nation.

Many of us mix up our two national days, so let me begin with the difference. On 15 August 1947 India became free. But a free country needs its own rules. For almost three years, a group of wise leaders, the Constituent Assembly, discussed and wrote those rules. Dr B. R. Ambedkar headed the committee that drafted them. On 26 January 1950 this Constitution came into force. From that day India has been a republic: a country where the head of state is chosen, not born, and where the law stands above every person.

What does the Constitution give to a student like me? It promises that I will be treated equally, whether I am rich or poor, a boy or a girl, from a city or a village. It gives me the right to speak, the right to follow my faith and the right to education. These are called Fundamental Rights, and no one can take them away without the process of law.

The same Constitution also lists our Fundamental Duties. We are asked to respect the national flag and the national anthem, to protect public property, to care for forests, rivers and animals, and to live in harmony with people of every religion and language. Rights and duties are two wheels of the same cycle. If one is missing, the cycle falls.

Dear friends, the parade in the capital shows the strength of our forces and the colours of our states. But the real strength of a republic is in its ordinary citizens: the one who stands in a queue, pays for the ticket, helps a stranger and refuses to cheat. We can be that citizen from today.

Let us thank the makers of our Constitution and promise to live by it. Thank you. Jai Hind!

आदरणीय प्रधानाचार्य जी, शिक्षकगण और प्यारे साथियो, आप सबको गणतंत्र दिवस की शुभकामनाएँ। 26 जनवरी 1950 को हमारा संविधान लागू हुआ और भारत एक गणतंत्र बना। इसका अर्थ है कि देश जनता के बनाए नियमों से चलता है। संविधान हम सबको बराबरी का अधिकार देता है और कुछ कर्तव्य भी सौंपता है। आइए, हम अपने संविधान, अपने तिरंगे और एक-दूसरे का सम्मान करें और ज़िम्मेदार नागरिक बनें। धन्यवाद। जय हिंद!