The Republic Day celebrations will now begin every year from January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Netaji Subash Chandra Bose.
Last year, the Narendra Modi government had decided to observe January 23 as ‘Parakram Diwas’ to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bose.
The recent decision is in line with the Central government’s focus on celebrating or commemorating important aspects of India’s history and culture, government sources said on Saturday.
Other such days, observance of which has become a yearly affair, are August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, October 31 as National Unity Day (birth anniversary of Sardar Patel), November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary), November 26 as Constitution Day and December 26 as Veer Baal Divas (a tribute to the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh), sources added.
The Centre has drawn up plans to promote sites across the country associated with Bose through curated tours as part of events to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of the Azad Hind government, the provisional government that was announced by Bose on October 21, 1943.
“Identification of such sites has been done and will include multiple routes. We have prepared curated itineraries that cover destinations connected to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The itineraries will be given to tour operators to promote sites related to Netaji,” an official in the Tourism Ministry was quoted as saying by PTI.
