January 26th, 2010 marked the 60th anniversary of India's adoption of the Constitution of India, and the 80th anniversary of its original 1930 Declaration of Independence from British rule. The annual holiday is celebrated as Republic Day, with a grand parade held in the capital, New Delhi, and many other celebrations across the diverse nation. Collected here are a number of photographs from the Republic Day celebrations and many more colorful glimpses of daily life from all around India.
1. Indian soldiers march during the Indian Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2010. Blanket fog obscured the start of India's 60th Republic Day celebrations, with the annual military parade in New Delhi held under heightened security due to fears of militant attacks. (PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)
2. A Kathakali dancer performs during a cultural program in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh February 1, 2010. Kathakali is an elaborate classical dance-drama from the southern Indian state of Kerala that combines literature, music, painting, acting and dance. The dance depicts stories from Hindu mythology and is usually religious in nature. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
3. A Jammu and Kashmir state police daredevil performs stunts during the Republic Day celebrations in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
4. People look at illuminated buildings that house the country's main government offices, during Republic Day in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
5. Members of the Indian Border Security Forces mounted on camel rehearse "Beating the Retreat" as part of preparations for Republic Day celebrations at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. (AP Photo)
6. Indian soldiers dressed in colorful clothing perform on motorcycles during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
7. Spectators look on as a model of an Indian Air Force fighter plane is paraded during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
8. The Lotus Temple's silhouette is seen at sunset in New Delhi on February 3, 2010. The Bahai House of Worship, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flower-like shape, was completed in 1986. (MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images)
9. South Africa's Jean Paul Duminy bowls in the nets during a practice session ahead of the first cricket test match against India in Nagpur, India, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
10. A Hindu holy man ties a turban on the banks of "Sangam," the confluence of rivers Ganges and Yamuna during the annual month long fair "Magh Mela" in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of over 30 days celebrated as "Magh Mela" to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
11. An Indian mini-bus driver cleans his vehicle in thick fog in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
12. A labourer sorts onions at a wholesale vegetable market in the eastern Indian city of Siliguri February 2, 2010. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri)
13. A Nanga Sadhu, or naked Hindu holy man with his face smeared with holy ash exhales smoke after puffing marijuana at a transit camp on the way to Gangasagar, in Calcutta, India, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010. Pilgrims started pour into the city to take a holy dip at the confluence of River Ganges and Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of Calcutta, on the auspicious day of Makarsankranti on Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
14. A man stands beside a pillar of an under-construction railway bridge as he catches fish in the waters of the Bay of Bengal, on the outskirts of the southern Indian town of Rameswaram, January 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri)
15. A tiger with a tranquilizer dart stuck in its back walks inside the Assam State Zoological cum Botanical Garden in Guwahati January 30, 2010. Two adult tigers had escaped from an enclosure at the Assam Zoo triggering panic among nearly 10,000 visitors, zoo officials said. Both the tigers were later tranquilized and taken to their cages. (REUTERS/Utpal Baruah)
16. Villagers cover themselves during a sandstorm near India-Nepal border in Pilibhit in the northern Indian state Uttar Pradesh January 30, 2010. (REUTERS/Pawan Kumar)
17. The fingers of a woman in a state of trance are seen through a lattice wall at the shrine of Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya in New Delhi February 4, 2010. (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
18. Beneath a partial eclipse of the Sun, a Hindu devotee offers prayers at the "Sangam," the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati on Mauni Amavasya, an auspicious day for Hindus in Allahabad, India, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
19. A Rajasthani nomad girl reacts to the camera as others walk along with their donkeys on a street at Badshapur In the northern Indian state of Haryana January 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
20. A competitor flexes his muscles during the "Mr. Senior Gujarat 2010" bodybuilding contest in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad January 31, 2010. More than 200 body builders across the state on Sunday participated in a contest organized by the Gujarat state body building association in an aim to encourage youth in body building sports and to aware common people about their health, a media release said. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)
21. An Indian woman works at a construction project in front of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on February 01, 2010 in New Delhi, India. The Commonwealth Games are due to be held in the Indian capital from October 3-14, 2010, but concerns remain over construction of its sporting and transport infrastructure. The sheer scale of the project has drawn an enormous population of migrant workers from all over India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
22. Indian children work nearby to their parents at a construction project in front of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on January 30, 2010 in New Delhi, India. The children accompany their parents to the work site, where if they are prepared to work, they will receive money for bread and milk and be provided with dinner by the contractor. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
23. A folk dancer from Kerala state looks on near his state's tableau, at a preview ahead of the Republic Day, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
24. A man is seen silhouetted as he smokes on the banks of the River Yamuna in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. Despite a 2001 Supreme Court ruling ordering the cleanup of the Yamuna, and despite billions in government spending to do just that, the waterway that supplies 70 percent of New Delhi's water remains a frothy, putrid sewer. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
25. An army cadet looks through a barrel of a cannon during the reunion carnival of the Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) corps in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad January 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder)
26. An elderly woman begs for alms on a roadside in the old part of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
27. A Greenpeace activist dressed as a brinjal protests against Bt brinjal, a genetically modified eggplant crop, in Bangalore, India, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. The Indian government is organizing a series of public consultations to decide on the approval of Bt brinjal, India's first GM crop. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
28. A student spits fuel into a fireball as he performs Malkhamb, an ancient form of Indian gymnastics during the Indian Republic Day celebrations in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
29. A man cries as he prays at the shrine of Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya in New Delhi February 4, 2010. (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
30. Hindu women leave the Rameswari temple after offering prayers during the Pongal festival in Rameswaram, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils across the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
31. A villager tries to control a bull during a bull-taming festival on the outskirts of Madurai town, about 500 km (311 miles) from Chennai January 16, 2010. The annual bull-taming festival is celebrated as part of south India's harvest festival of Pongal. (REUTERS/Babu)
32. A young Buddhist monk makes a face during the Dalai Lama's prayer session at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Patna, India, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
33. An employee works inside a plant of Ford Motor Co. in Maraimalar Nagar, about 50 km (31 miles) from the southern Indian city of Chennai February 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Babu)
34. A child is administered drops of polio vaccine at a health center at Saliasahi, Bhubaneswar, India, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010. India is observing National Immunization Day Sunday in efforts to eradicate polio. Every year, the country mobilizes more than 2 million health workers for an immunization day, visiting more than 200 million homes. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
35. Models get ready backstage during the third day of the Bangalore Fashion Week in Bangalore, India, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
36. An Indian Hindu devotee offers prayers while bathing during the annular solar eclipse in the Banganga Lake in Mumbai, India, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
37. An Indian Border Security Force soldier patrols near fencing at the India-Pakistan border at Suchetgarh, about 30 km (19 miles) south of Jammu January 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta)
38. A sweeper cleans the side of a road near a replica of the Eiffel Tower amid heavy fog in the early morning in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh January 18, 2010. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
39. A vendor counts money sitting on a heap of marigold flowers at a wholesale market in Calcutta, India, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. Marigolds are widely used as strings of garland and for Hindu religious rituals. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
40. An Indian farmer woman walks through a mustard field at Bisothi village, about 53 kilometers (33 miles) east of Allahabad, India, Monday, Feb.1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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