Antigua PM hails India's democratic traditions on Constitution Day

Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, on Tuesday (local time) hailed India's democratic traditions as the country marked 70 years of promulgation of the Constitution on November 26.

"India's Constitution Day is celebrated all across the world and by Antigua and Barbuda, in particular, given India's inevitable role in bringing freedom and democracy to millions around the world," the prime minister said in a video message posted on his official Twitter page.

"Long live the people of India. Long live India. Long live India's democracy," he added.

Browne, on the occasion, took a stroll through history and stated that India, in 1947, managed to get rid of the British and established its sovereignty.

A year later, in 1948, as a member of the United Nations, India brought up the issue of apartheid in South Africa to the attention of the world body. "India was determined to see freedom spread throughout the world following its unrelenting opposition to colonial rule," he stressed.

He also said that the beginning of the dismantling of colonialism globally was significantly led by India after it spearheaded the adoption of the UN resolution 1514/XV of 1960.

The Constitution Day is celebrated to mark the adopting of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on this day in 1949. It came into force on 26th January 1950, marking the beginning of a new era in the history of the Indian Republic.

The Constitution day was first celebrated in 2015 as a mark of tribute to India's first Law Minister Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who played a pivotal role in the drafting of the document.

The Constitution of India, one of the longest written Constitutions of the world, constitutes of a Preamble, 22 parts with 395 articles and 8 schedules.