It was 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India came into effect replacing the Government of India Act (1935) which was governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 came up with the India's own constitution which came into effect on 26 January 1950. The reason behind choosing 26 January as the Republic Day was that in 1929 on this day Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed.