Aug 5, Jan 22, and more: There are new special days on India's calendar

In the last 9 years, the BJP govt has marked some anniversaries and events with more zeal than the previous Congress-led governments

Over the past decade, the government has celebrated India’s Independence Day and Republic Day with customary zeal. Alongside, the country’s leadership has introduced other ‘annual festivals’ since 2019, with varying degrees of acceptance. August 5 is one such day, and January 22 could soon become another.

August 5 has come to mark the fulfilment of two of the Sangh Parivar’s core agenda: Repeal of Article 370, which the Rajya Sabha did in 2019 by revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya a year later.