Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics.
India gained its independence on 15 August 1947, after which the process of preparing a constitution was started. The Constitution was passed on 26 November 1949 in the Constituent Assembly. It was adopted on 26 January 1950 with a democratic government system, when the country became a republic in true sense. 26 January was selected, because it was this day in 1930 when the Declaration of Indian Independence was passed.
(... from Wikipedia on 2012-04-18 01:47:59)