Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

© Jayakumar/Shutterstoc

Citadel of the Sun. Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

This ornate, skylit building, with an exterior covered in intricate carvings and artwork, was once a military base. Perched high on a hill above the Indian city of Jodhpur, the foundations of the colossal Mehrangarh Fort, also known as the Citadel of the Sun, were laid nearly five centuries before its home country became a democratic republic. It towers 400ft above the city’s skyline, one of India’s best-preserved forts, described by the writer Rudyard Kipling as “the work of giants”.

India's Republic Day commemorates 26 January 1950, when the Constitution of India was adopted and the newly independent nation became a democratic republic. At the time of independence, the Republic of India had a population of 370 million, making the new nation the world's most populous democracy. It remains so today, with a population nearing 1.4 billion.