National Days of India: Dates and Their Reasons
National days of India for competitive exams: Republic Day, Constitution Day, service days, profession days and achievement days, each with its date and reason.
By GK24 Editorial Team· Published · 4 min read
India observes two kinds of special days. One kind comes from the United Nations and is kept all over the world. The other kind belongs to India alone: days fixed by the Government of India, or by long custom, to mark the birth of the Republic, the memory of a leader, the raising of a service, or the passing of a law. This note deals with the second kind, and it works by one rule — for every national day, learn the date, the reason and the year of the event behind it, because the examiner asks for whichever of the three is missing.
The days of the nation and the Constitution
Four dates carry the whole story of how India became a republic. Independence Day is 15 August, for the transfer of power in 1947. Republic Day is 26 January, because the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950; that date was chosen deliberately, since the Indian National Congress had declared Purna Swaraj on 26 January 1930. Constitution Day, or Samvidhan Diwas, is 26 November, the day the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution in 1949, and it was earlier called Law Day. Hindi Diwas is 14 September, the day in 1949 on which the Constituent Assembly accepted Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of the Union.
Days named after a birth or a death anniversary
| Date | Day | Person remembered |
|---|---|---|
| 12 January | National Youth Day | Swami Vivekananda, born 1863 |
| 23 January | Parakram Diwas | Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, born 1897 |
| 30 January | Martyrs' Day, Shaheed Diwas | Mahatma Gandhi, assassinated in 1948 |
| 23 March | Shaheed Diwas | Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, hanged in 1931 |
| 29 June | National Statistics Day | P. C. Mahalanobis, born 1893 |
| 1 July | National Doctors' Day | Dr B. C. Roy, born 1882 and died 1962, both on this date |
| 20 August | Sadbhavana Diwas | Rajiv Gandhi, born 1944 |
| 29 August | National Sports Day | Major Dhyan Chand, born 1905 |
| 5 September | Teachers' Day | Dr S. Radhakrishnan, born 1888 |
| 15 September | Engineers' Day | Sir M. Visvesvaraya, born 1861 |
| 2 October | Gandhi Jayanti | Mahatma Gandhi, born 1869 |
| 31 October | Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, National Unity Day | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, born 1875 |
| 11 November | National Education Day | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, born 1888 |
| 15 November | Janjatiya Gaurav Divas | Birsa Munda, born 1875 |
| 26 November | National Milk Day | Dr Verghese Kurien, born 1921 |
| 23 December | Kisan Diwas, National Farmers' Day | Chaudhary Charan Singh, born 1902 |
| 25 December | Good Governance Day | Atal Bihari Vajpayee, born 1924 |
Days of the armed forces
- Army Day, 15 January — Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa took charge as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in 1949.
- Air Force Day, 8 October — the Indian Air Force was raised in 1932.
- Navy Day, 4 December — for Operation Trident, the naval strike on Karachi harbour in the war of 1971.
- Armed Forces Flag Day, 7 December — observed since 1949 to collect funds for the welfare of soldiers and their families.
- Kargil Vijay Diwas, 26 July — for the end of the Kargil conflict in 1999.
- Vijay Diwas, 16 December — for the victory in the war of 1971.
Days that mark an achievement, an institution or a law
| Date | Day | What it marks |
|---|---|---|
| 24 January | National Girl Child Day | Observed since 2008 for the rights of the girl child |
| 25 January | National Voters' Day and National Tourism Day | The Election Commission of India was set up on 25 January 1950 |
| 28 February | National Science Day | Sir C. V. Raman's discovery of the Raman effect in 1928 |
| 4 March | National Safety Day | The founding of the National Safety Council in 1966 |
| 5 April | National Maritime Day | The first voyage of an Indian-owned ship, in 1919 |
| 24 April | National Panchayati Raj Day | The 73rd Constitutional Amendment came into force in 1993 |
| 11 May | National Technology Day | The nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1998 |
| 7 August | National Handloom Day | The launch of the Swadeshi Movement in 1905 |
| 16 November | National Press Day | The Press Council of India began work in 1966 |
| 24 December | National Consumer Rights Day | The Consumer Protection Act received assent in 1986 |
How the dates are chosen
Three patterns cover almost every national day. A day is fixed on the anniversary of an event, as with Republic Day, National Technology Day and Navy Day. Or it is fixed on the birthday of the person whose work it honours, as with Teachers' Day, Engineers' Day and National Milk Day. Or it is fixed on the founding of the institution whose cause it serves, as with National Voters' Day and National Press Day. If a date is forgotten in the hall, recall the person or the event first: the date usually follows from it.
Exam Point of View
The question is nearly always a match: a date is given and the day is asked, or a day is given and the person or event behind it is asked. Three groups of traps recur. The first is adoption against commencement, that is 26 November against 26 January. The second is the science and technology pair, 28 February against 11 May, and the education pair, 5 September against 11 November. The third is the set of leaders whose names are close in the mind: Sardar Patel for unity on 31 October, Charan Singh for farmers on 23 December, Vajpayee for good governance on 25 December and Vivekananda for youth on 12 January. A question may also ask which day is not a national day of India, where a United Nations day is slipped in. Learning the reason rather than the bare date protects a candidate against every one of these.
Important Facts
| Republic Day | 26 January, Constitution came into force in 1950 |
|---|---|
| Independence Day | 15 August, transfer of power in 1947 |
| Constitution Day | 26 November, Constitution adopted in 1949 |
| Hindi Diwas | 14 September, Hindi accepted as official language in 1949 |
| National Youth Day | 12 January, birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda |
| Army Day | 15 January, K. M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief in 1949 |
| National Voters' Day | 25 January, Election Commission of India set up in 1950 |
| Martyrs' Days | 30 January for Mahatma Gandhi and 23 March for Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru |
| National Science Day | 28 February, discovery of the Raman effect in 1928 |
| National Panchayati Raj Day | 24 April, 73rd Amendment came into force in 1993 |
| National Technology Day | 11 May, nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1998 |
| Kargil Vijay Diwas | 26 July, end of the Kargil conflict in 1999 |
| National Sports Day | 29 August, birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand |
| Air Force Day | 8 October, the Indian Air Force was raised in 1932 |
| Navy Day | 4 December, Operation Trident of 1971 |
| Vijay Diwas | 16 December, victory in the war of 1971 |
Practice MCQs on this topic
Republic Day is celebrated in India on 26 January because on this day in 1950
- A.India became independent
- B.the Constitution of India came into force
- C.the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution
- D.the first general election was held
Show answer
The Constitution took effect on 26 January 1950 and India became a sovereign republic. The date was chosen on purpose, because the Indian National Congress had declared Purna Swaraj, or complete independence, on 26 January 1930, and the founders wished to honour that pledge.
Read the full explanation →National Youth Day is observed on 12 January to mark the birth anniversary of
- A.Bhagat Singh
- B.Swami Vivekananda
- C.Subhas Chandra Bose
- D.Jawaharlal Nehru
Show answer
He was born on 12 January 1863, and the Government of India declared his birthday National Youth Day so that his call to the young would be placed before students each year.
Read the full explanation →National Science Day is observed in India on 28 February to commemorate
- A.the founding of the Indian Science Congress
- B.the discovery of the Raman effect
- C.the launch of Aryabhata
- D.the first nuclear test at Pokhran
Show answer
Sir C. V. Raman announced his discovery of the scattering of light, now called the Raman effect, on 28 February 1928, and it won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, the first for an Indian in the sciences.
Read the full explanation →Teachers' Day is celebrated in India on 5 September in honour of
- A.Dr S. Radhakrishnan
- B.Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- C.Dr Zakir Husain
- D.Dr Rajendra Prasad
Show answer
He was born on 5 September 1888, was a philosopher and teacher before entering public life, and served as the first Vice-President and the second President of India.
Read the full explanation →Engineers' Day is celebrated in India on 15 September every year to mark the birth anniversary of
- A.Homi Jehangir Bhabha
- B.Sir M. Visvesvaraya
- C.Vikram Sarabhai
- D.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Show answer
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861, served as the Diwan of Mysore, and built the Krishnarajasagara dam and the system of automatic sluice gates that made his name.
Read the full explanation →National Sports Day is observed in India on 29 August, the birth anniversary of
- A.Milkha Singh
- B.Major Dhyan Chand
- C.Sachin Tendulkar
- D.K. D. Jadhav
Show answer
The hockey player was born on 29 August 1905 and won Olympic gold with India in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
Read the full explanation →Constitution Day, or Samvidhan Diwas, is observed on
- A.26 January
- B.15 August
- C.26 November
- D.14 September
Show answer
The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India on 26 November 1949, and that day is kept as Constitution Day.
Read the full explanation →National Technology Day is observed on 11 May every year in memory of
- A.the launch of Chandrayaan
- B.the nuclear tests at Pokhran
- C.the founding of ISRO
- D.the first flight of a Tejas aircraft
Show answer
India carried out nuclear tests at Pokhran in Rajasthan on 11 May 1998 under the operation known as Shakti, and a home-built aircraft was flight-tested and a missile fired on the same day.
Read the full explanation →Army Day is celebrated in India on 15 January because on this day in 1949
- A.the Indian Army was founded
- B.K. M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief
- C.the first Republic Day parade was held
- D.the National Defence Academy was set up
Show answer
On 15 January 1949, Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa took over from the last British commander as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, and that handover is what Army Day marks.
Read the full explanation →Indian Navy Day is observed on 4 December in memory of which operation of the 1971 war?
- A.Operation Vijay
- B.Operation Trident
- C.Operation Meghdoot
- D.Operation Cactus
Show answer
On the night of 4 December 1971 the Indian Navy attacked Karachi harbour with missile boats, sinking enemy vessels and setting the oil tanks ablaze without losing a ship.
Read the full explanation →Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, or National Unity Day, is observed on 31 October to mark the birth anniversary of
- A.Lal Bahadur Shastri
- B.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- C.Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- D.Govind Ballabh Pant
Show answer
He was born on 31 October 1875, and as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister he brought the princely states into the Indian Union, which earned him the name Iron Man of India.
Read the full explanation →Kisan Diwas, or National Farmers' Day, is observed on 23 December in honour of which former Prime Minister?
- A.Lal Bahadur Shastri
- B.Chaudhary Charan Singh
- C.Morarji Desai
- D.V. P. Singh
Show answer
He was born on 23 December 1902, served as Prime Minister of India, and worked all his life on the problems of land holdings and of the peasantry, which is why his birthday is kept as Kisan Diwas.
Read the full explanation →Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Republic Day kept on 26 January and not on the day the Constitution was adopted?
The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, but its commencement was held back to 26 January 1950 so that it would fall on the anniversary of the Purna Swaraj declaration of 26 January 1930. Adoption is Constitution Day and commencement is Republic Day.
What is the difference between National Science Day and National Technology Day?
National Science Day, 28 February, marks Sir C. V. Raman's discovery of the Raman effect in 1928. National Technology Day, 11 May, marks the nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1998 along with an aircraft test flight and a missile launch on the same day.
Which national days honour the armed forces?
Army Day on 15 January, for the first Indian Commander-in-Chief in 1949; Air Force Day on 8 October, for the raising of the force in 1932; Navy Day on 4 December, for Operation Trident in 1971; Armed Forces Flag Day on 7 December; Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26 July; and Vijay Diwas on 16 December.
Why is Teachers' Day observed on 5 September?
It is the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, born in 1888, a philosopher and teacher who became the first Vice-President and the second President of India. He asked that his birthday be marked as a day for teachers rather than for himself.
Which national days fall on 25 December and 23 December?
25 December is Good Governance Day, on the birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, born in 1924. 23 December is Kisan Diwas, or National Farmers' Day, on the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh, born in 1902.
Is Constitution Day the same as Law Day?
Yes, it is the same date. 26 November was observed as Law Day for many years, and since 2015 the Government has marked it as Samvidhan Diwas, or Constitution Day, in schools and government offices.
Sources
- The Constitution of India, commencement and adoption — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice
- India at a Glance: National Identity Elements — National Portal of India
- Releases on national days and observances — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
