This holiday is an important national festival in India, celebrating the day in 1950 when India’s ties with Britain were severed and the country became a fully independent republic. The holiday is marked with parades and much celebration in all the state capitals, but the festivities in Delhi are especially grand. There is a mammoth parade with military units, floats from each state, dancers and musicians, and fly-overs. Independence Day on August 15 is also a national holiday, but it is observed chiefly with speech-making and none of the grandeur of Republic Day. Discuss