Republic Day in India – Why and How is it Celebrated?

Republic Day in India is a celebration of the commencement of the Constitution of India. The day was originally celebrated as a national holiday on 26 January 1950, after the Constitution of India was drafted. This date marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. The Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 and replaced an interim constitution which provided for a Constituent Assembly to draft the Constitution of India.

Rajendra Prasad (First President of India) readies to take part in the first Republic Day parade

History of celebration

Owing to this event, India became one of the few countries to have a written national constitution as early as 1950 after it gained independence from Great Britain in 1947. The adoption of the Indian constitution is one of the most significant days in Indian history. The Constitution of India replaced the Government of India Act of 1935. The Act of 1935 still served its importance as it laid down the basis to build the constitution. When India became a republic, the constitution enabled the country to make changes and add certain features to its political structure, like President elected by Parliament. Another feature that was added was that the state was to be governed under these laws made by parliament, not monarchs who ruled it before, thus ending the monarchy rule.

First Republic Day Parade

As per the Indian Constitution, 26 January is celebrated as “Republic Day”. It was declared by President Rajendra Prasad on May 13th, 1949, as the first official celebration of Republic Day. The celebration includes flag hoisting, cultural programs, and many more events. In the capital, a huge parade is organised and people from all over the country attend this celebration. Foreign government officials are also formally invited to attend and witness the celebrations. Apart from the parade, the president also honours exemplarily citizens for their bravery by offering them various awards.

How it’s Celebrated?

Republic Day Parade by Forces

Republic Day is marked with great pomp and show. The celebration starts on January 25th when a 30 feet high, 60 feet long flag of India is hoisted at Rajpath (the main boulevard located in New Delhi) where people sing the national anthem of India. The President and Prime Minister of India address the nation on this day. The president hoists the national flag at 7:00 am at Rajpath in New Delhi. It is followed by a 21-gun salute that echoes across the capital city.

On Republic Day the parade showcases the strength and might of the Indian Armed forces. Professional marching bands perform throughout the entire parade, blowing their trumpets and beating their drums. The Indian Air Force also put up a performance that includes an airshow.  The parade is held at the Rajpath, an 11 km long boulevard that leads from Rashtrapati Bhawan to India Gate in New Delhi where it ends near Vijay Chowk and National Stadium. The parade is witnessed by thousands of people from all walks of life.

Glimpses of magnificent tableau from various states of India on parade Line

The first Republic Day celebration took place on January 26th, 1950, and was attended by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and vice-president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who hoisted the Indian flag after unfurling by the then home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

How can it be celabrated by Brands?

Republic Day presents an opportunity for brands to create engaging experiences to ‘wow’ their customers. The festival of colours is one event that brings together people across the nation, creating an opportunity for brands to engage with them on a single platform and build long-term relationships. Brands can leverage this opportunity to create engaging experiences for their customers, by associating with the festival or promoting products that are relevant.

Brands can reach out to their customers or target markets by creating and running contests with various prizes. Some effective ways of increasing brand awareness during these contests are that companies can ask their customers to upload pictures of themselves with their products and use their product-related hashtags. This is a very cost-effective way to promote your brand. By selecting only one or a handful of customers as winners out of the thousands that will engage and interact with your brand, your brand awareness will drastically improve. Furthermore, using social media influencers to help promote your brand during these contests will also help improve brand positioning as they command a higher following. The average consumer turns towards influencers to get their opinion and views on the brands and seeing them promote will definitely help boost the visibility of your brand. Promoting these products during Republic Day and using relevant hashtags on social media boosts the legitimacy and reach of your campaigns. Involving celebrities or influencers to promote your brand via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram during this festival.

Social media campaigns on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have churned out extremely positive results for brands. Asking consumers to create content, whether it is in the form of poetry, essays, or artwork, and using hashtags to tag the brand will help the brand grow as well.

Amazon also ran a very expensive and successful campaign during Republic Day. They gave away products to their customers worth several thousand rupees. This certainly increased the number of people visiting their website and interacting on their app and website alike. Not only this, but it also massively improved the brand image that customers had of Amazon. People like free products, and the giveaway that Amazon India organised on Republic Day, which ran for several days, helped the company increase its customer engagement.

Republic Day also has a lot of history behind it and as such, is also an extremely patriotic holiday. Appealing to these ideologies and themes will help boost brand awareness. Seeing that a company is also patriotic and supports the country it is operating in bodes well with people. Offering products with the Republic Day theme will also help customers flock to your brand. Offering large discounts or customized products and bundles will also help your brand stand out in an extremely competitive market.

Creating brand awareness by promoting products that are relevant to this time of year like food items etc. This could be done through sampling activities wherein you would hand out samples of some traditional Indian snacks branded as ‘x’ products available in the market. Furthermore, with the pandemic still running rampant through the streets of India, companies can push delivery services to their customers. Campaigns can encourage customers to sit at home and watch and enjoy the parade while all their shopping is taken care of.

Understanding the needs of your customers is very important for any business. Events and holidays help companies express their gratitude to customers by giving back to society. Analysing how companies can take advantage of events and national holidays like Republic Day will help companies succeed improve their overall brand image and alter their brand position too.