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Important Days

⏱ 4 min read🧩 5 question types🎯 17 practice Q

The idea in one minute

Days questions ask for a date, a person or a reason. Most national days honour a birth anniversary. Most world days follow a founding date or a UN decision. Learn them by month and by person.

Days that honour a person

Date	Day	Person or reason
12 Jan	National Youth Day	Swami Vivekananda
30 Jan	Martyrs' Day	Gandhi's assassination
28 Feb	National Science Day	Raman effect (1928)
1 Jul	National Doctors' Day	Dr B.C. Roy
29 Aug	National Sports Day	Major Dhyan Chand
5 Sep	Teachers' Day	Dr S. Radhakrishnan
15 Sep	Engineers' Day	Sir M. Visvesvaraya
2 Oct	Gandhi Jayanti	Mahatma Gandhi
31 Oct	National Unity Day	Sardar Patel
14 Nov	Children's Day	Jawaharlal Nehru
22 Dec	National Mathematics Day	Srinivasa Ramanujan
23 Dec	Kisan Diwas	Chaudhary Charan Singh
25 Dec	Good Governance Day	A.B. Vajpayee

Mathematics Day has been observed since 2012.

Watch: Science Day marks the Raman effect, not Raman's birthday.

National days with their own reason

24 Jan: National Girl Child Day.
25 Jan: National Voters' Day. The Election Commission was founded on 25 Jan 1950.
26 Jan: Republic Day. The Constitution came into force in 1950.
11 May: National Technology Day, for the Pokhran tests of 11 May 1998.
14 Sep: Hindi Diwas. Hindi was adopted as the official language in 1949.
15 Aug: Independence Day.
26 Nov: Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas). The Constitution was adopted in 1949.

Defence forces days

Day	Date	Reason
Army Day	15 Jan	K.M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief in 1949
Air Force Day	8 Oct	IAF founded in 1932
Navy Day	4 Dec	Operation Trident, 1971

International days

Date	Day
8 Mar	International Women's Day
22 Mar	World Water Day
7 Apr	World Health Day (WHO founded 1948)
22 Apr	Earth Day
1 May	International Labour Day
5 Jun	World Environment Day
21 Jun	International Day of Yoga (first observed 2015, proposed by India)
29 Jul	International Tiger Day
12 Aug	International Youth Day
8 Sep	International Literacy Day
16 Sep	World Ozone Day (Montreal Protocol)
16 Oct	World Food Day (FAO founded 1945)
24 Oct	United Nations Day (UN founded 1945)
1 Dec	World AIDS Day
10 Dec	Human Rights Day (UDHR 1948)

The two constitution dates

Adoption and enforcement are different days.

26 November 1949: adopted. This is Constitution Day.
26 January 1950: came into force. This is Republic Day.

The date 26 January honours the 1930 Purna Swaraj declaration. Independence Day, 15 August 1947, is a separate event.

Tip: Feb and Nov anchors: 28 Feb is the Raman effect, 26 Nov is adoption.

Question types you will see

Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.

Type 1very common4 practice Q

Day and the person it honours

How to spot it:

The stem asks whose birth anniversary Sports Day, Teachers' Day, Youth Day or Mathematics Day marks.

Method

Find the profession in the day's name.
Look up the person-date row in the table.
Remember 30 Jan as Martyrs' Day, the day Gandhi was assassinated (1948).

Why it works:

Most national days honour one person, so the profession gives it away.

Try this

National Mathematics Day (22 December) marks the birth anniversary of whom?

Show solution

The day belongs to mathematics.
It marks Srinivasa Ramanujan's birth (22 December 1887).
It has been observed since 2012.

Answer

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Type 2very common3 practice Q

National day and its date

How to spot it:

The stem names Voters' Day, Technology Day, Hindi Diwas or Unity Day and asks the date or reason.

Method

Group January days: 24 Girl Child, 25 Voters, 26 Republic.
Anchor 11 May with Pokhran 1998 and 14 Sep with Hindi 1949.
Anchor 31 Oct with Sardar Patel and 28 Feb with the Raman effect.

Why it works:

Each date links to one event, so recall the event.

Try this

National Unity Day, on 31 October, celebrates the birth anniversary of whom?

Show solution

31 October is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birthday.
He is the 'Iron Man' who integrated the princely states.

Answer

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Type 3very common4 practice Q

International day and its date

How to spot it:

The stem names World Water, Health, Environment, Food or Yoga Day.

Method

Split the year: spring (Mar-May), mid-year (Jun-Aug), year-end (Oct-Dec).
Match the day: 22 Mar Water, 7 Apr Health, 5 Jun Environment, 21 Jun Yoga.
Match year-end days: 16 Oct Food, 24 Oct UN, 1 Dec AIDS, 10 Dec Human Rights.

Why it works:

Sorting by season keeps twenty dates manageable.

Try this

World Health Day is observed on 7 April because of which event?

Show solution

World Health Day follows the WHO.
The World Health Organization was founded on 7 April 1948.

Answer

WHO was founded on 7 April 1948

Type 4common2 practice Q

Defence forces days

How to spot it:

The stem asks the date of Army, Navy or Air Force Day, or the Operation Trident link.

Method

Recall Army 15 Jan (Cariappa, 1949).
Recall Air Force 8 Oct (IAF founded 1932).
Recall Navy 4 Dec (Operation Trident, 1971).

Why it works:

There are only three dates, each with one reason.

Try this

Indian Navy Day is celebrated on which date?

Show solution

Navy Day recalls Operation Trident of 1971.
It falls on 4 December.
Army Day is 15 Jan and Air Force Day is 8 Oct.

Answer

4 December

Type 5occasional2 practice Q

Republic-era constitutional days

How to spot it:

The stem asks why 26 January is Republic Day, or when Samvidhan Divas falls.

Method

Separate adoption (26 Nov 1949) from enforcement (26 Jan 1950).
Link 26 Jan to the 1930 Purna Swaraj declaration.
Add 25 Jan: Voters' Day, since the Election Commission began on 25 Jan 1950.

Why it works:

Two close dates are the usual trap, so state both.

Try this

Why is Republic Day celebrated on 26 January?

Show solution

The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
The date honours the 1930 Purna Swaraj declaration.

Answer

The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950

Shortcuts that save time

⚡ Birthday days

Pair the day with the person. 12 Jan Vivekananda, 29 Aug Dhyan Chand, 5 Sep Radhakrishnan, 15 Sep Visvesvaraya, 14 Nov Nehru, 22 Dec Ramanujan.

Example

National Mathematics Day (22 December) honours whom?

Show solution

Recall the person list.
22 Dec pairs with Srinivasa Ramanujan, born 22 Dec 1887.

Answer

Srinivasa Ramanujan

⚡ Two constitution anchors

26 Nov 1949 is adoption, so it is Constitution Day. 26 Jan 1950 is enforcement, so it is Republic Day.

Mistakes to avoid

Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.

Mistake 01

Calling 26 January Constitution Day.

Constitution Day is 26 November (adoption). Republic Day is 26 January (enforcement).

Mistake 02

Saying Science Day is Raman's birthday.

28 Feb marks the discovery of the Raman effect in 1928. His birthday is 7 Nov.

Mistake 03

Swapping Teachers' Day and Engineers' Day.

Teachers' Day, 5 Sep, is Radhakrishnan. Engineers' Day, 15 Sep, is Visvesvaraya.

Mistake 04

Mixing Hindi Diwas with a Constitution date.

Hindi Diwas is 14 Sep, for the 1949 official-language decision.

Mistake 05

Mixing up the three forces days.

Army 15 Jan, Air Force 8 Oct, Navy 4 Dec.

Quick revision

Read this the night before the exam.

Birth-linked: 12 Jan Vivekananda, 1 Jul B.C. Roy, 29 Aug Dhyan Chand, 5 Sep Radhakrishnan, 15 Sep Visvesvaraya, 14 Nov Nehru, 22 Dec Ramanujan.
28 Feb Science (Raman 1928); 11 May Technology (Pokhran 1998); 25 Jan Voters; 14 Sep Hindi.
7 Apr Health (WHO 1948); 16 Oct Food (FAO 1945); 24 Oct UN (1945); 10 Dec Human Rights (UDHR 1948).
Yoga 21 June, first observed 2015, proposed by India; Earth Day 22 April; Water 22 March.
Army 15 Jan, Air Force 8 Oct, Navy 4 Dec (Operation Trident).
Adopted 26 Nov 1949; in force 26 Jan 1950.

Practice: 17 questions

Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.

Topic test · 10 questions

Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.

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