Our country, India, or the Republic of India, to be more specific, is the largest democracy in the world in terms of population. And India was declared a republic or a country ruled by its people and their representatives on the 26th of January in 1950 when the Constitution of India came into force. On this day, our country finally separated itself from the British Monarchy that de facto ruled the nation even after the 15th of August 1947. Thus on this day, the Constitution became the governing document of India, replacing the Government of India Act of 1935. The day is very significant for each and every citizen of India, as it was on this day that our country was formally freed from the whims of monarchy and a rule of the people, by the people and for the people was established that bestowed equal rights to every countryman irrespective of his caste, creed, religion, gender and age. Therefore, we Indians celebrate this day with emotions and joy from the core of our hearts. And every year, the day is observed all across the nation with a great deal of enthusiasm and fanfare. While formal ceremonies are arranged by the Government of India in the national capital that are attended by many foreign dignitaries and luminaries from across the world, every state or province also solemnizes the occasion with due honour and respect. Even schools, colleges, universities and private offices celebrate the occasion with pomp and show. This article is to show reverence for the day and to present to you different ideas that you can follow to celebrate the occasion in your office. You can be an HR, an owner of a company or the director of a large corporate; the ideas discussed in this article would not only help you plan a great Republic Day party at the office, boosting employee engagement, but would also drive home a message of patriotism and emotion towards the nation.
Republic Day celebration ideas for offices
1. Decorating the office and cubicles
Whether you have a full building as your office or a floor of an apartment, decorating the whole workspace and cubicles with items that reflect patriotism and nationalistic sentiments has a refreshing and morale-boosting effect on your employees. So, let your employees soak in this patriotic vibe. Buy colourful balloons, flags and ribbons, and ask your employees to use their imagination in decorating the whole office with these items. Divide your employees into small groups, choose a leader among them from each such group and assign them the tasks of decorating different parts of the office. This would not only lead to better cooperation and alignment among employees but would also result in increased employee participation. Build the hype from at least one week before Republic Day.
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2. Arrange a movie-watching session
Announce a town-hall meeting on Republic Day and arrange a movie-watching session for all employees. If you are an HR, shortlist some patriotic movies for this session and select the one that not only has some great message to deliver to the citizens of India but also contains some important corporate lessons that can be learnt and implemented at work. If you are the company owner, ask your HR to preside over the movie-watching session and conduct an interactive discussion afterwards with employees to drive home the key takeaways. Patriotic movies are a useful resource of motivation. They not only evoke deep nationalistic sentiments among citizens, but they also impart some valuable management lessons like techniques of team building and team motivation which the employees can largely benefit from.
3. Organising a trivia game
Organise a special Republic day trivia quiz competition where questions on interesting but smaller-known facts about India’s history, the freedom fighters and their freedom struggle would be asked. Announce some attractive prizes for the winner and the two runner-ups. The idea behind this event is not to test your employees’ knowledge but to encourage employee participation and ensure better cooperation between them.
4. Book an outdoor venue for the Republic Day party
Celebrating Republic Day with your employees and colleagues doesn’t necessarily have to be within the confines of the office. Some employees may find the indoor event to be restrictive, limiting and even boring, as they spend close to nine hours a day and six days a week inside those same four walls. So, you can take the Republic Day celebration out of your office, book a farmhouse, villa or banquet hall in the city depending on the size of your team and organise a grand Republic Day party for them. You can fill the event with lots of team building and motivational activities, and end it up with a gala dinner. If you are from Delhi NCR, you can find many banquet halls in Delhi for party.
5. Arrange for a joint dinner/lunch at the office
Both you and your employees go to the office every day, spend hours together and yet hardly find any time for a heart-to-heart talk with each other, forget about sitting together for a lunch. So why not take the 26th of January as a day to break away from this pattern? Arrange a joint lunch or dinner at the office for your employees in honour of Republic Day and sit together with everyone for the meal. No boss and no official discussion – just be one of them and enjoy every moment. Trust us, your employees would remember the event for a long time to come.
6. Gift your employees tickets to watch the Republic Day parade
This would be a great way to celebrate Republic Day with your employees and colleagues. Gift them tickets to watch the magnificent Republic Day parade live from Kartavya Path. If you have a small team, you can also join them and be a part of the grandest Republic Day celebration in the country. This would not only make your employees happy but also make them respectful towards their country and the men who protect it from external forces with their lives. For your information, the price of reserved category tickets for the Republic Day Parade 2023 in Delhi has been kept at ₹500 per person and they can be booked online through a Government portal.
7. Donate to a charity for freedom fighters or ex-servicemen
Celebrate this Republic Day differently from previous years. Release a part of your corporate CSR fund towards a charity that takes care of the freedom fighters, ex-servicemen and their family members who are in need. This can be the best way to honour the country and the efforts of the men who sacrificed their all to protect it. Encourage your employees to donate to the fund too. Prepare a cheque, gather at the office premises on the Republic Day morning, and take your employees to the office of the charity organisation to physically hand over the cheque to them. This would be a great gesture and your employees would respect you even more for this initiative.
Conclusion
The freedom we enjoy now was not attained in a day. The nation, which was occupied and colonised for hundreds of years, had to go through a lot to gift us the good night’s sleep that we Indians enjoy today. The sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and their families and the pain they had gone through to free the nation from bondage are uncompensable. An occasion like Republic Day is our chance to honour the nation and remember the sacrifices made by these brave countrymen to whom we are forever indebted. 26th of January is the day our nation finally washed off the blots of bondage to promise us the dream of equality for all. Therefore, standing in solidarity with the nation on Republic Day irrespective of religion, caste and gender is our unavoidable obligation and responsibility as citizens. The Republic Day celebrations convey a message of togetherness despite the diversity in our culture, religion and ethnicity. They are as much a part of Government ceremonies as they are a part of private functions and corporate parties. The above-mentioned ideas discuss various ways to celebrate the occasion with employees or colleagues inside or outside of the office. These Republic Day office party ideas not only boost coordination among employees resulting in improved performance at work, but also help them fulfil their responsibilities as citizens.
Book Restaurants or Party halls for Party through Sloshout
Celebrating Republic Day in the office or at an outdoor venue with office colleagues or employees is a grand idea. Make this idea a success by booking a banquet hall or farmhouse through Sloshout. www.sloshout.com is India’s number one online venue-booking portal that lets users find and book venues online from the comfort of their homes at heavily discounted prices.
