1757 marked the beginning of the British Empire's authority in India, followed by the English East India Company gaining control of the entire nation by winning the Battle of Plassey.
You may have seen “Gandhi,” but you may not be familiar with the true story. Indian Independence Day, celebrated on August 15, reminds us of the lengthy, arduous struggle for freedom against British dominance led by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Despite the vast British Empire, on which it was once said that “the sun never sets,” motley groups of liberation fighters and brilliant strategists defeated the British with strong, tactical mobilisation and the tenacity that comes from centuries of oppression. Join in the commemoration of what Nehru referred to as India’s “Test with Fate.”
On August 15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India, raised the Indian flag above the Lahori Gate in Delhi. On each subsequent Indian Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister raises the country’s flag and delivers an address to the nation, as this became a tradition.
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1757 marked the beginning of the British Empire’s authority in India, followed by the English East India Company gaining control of the entire nation by winning the Battle of Plassey. The Indian independence movement began during World War I under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, a renowned leader. The civil disobedience movement arose as a result of Gandhi’s steadfast advocacy of noncooperation and nonviolence as protest methods.
India’s lengthy and arduous campaigns for independence were successful. After the two world wars, a weakened Britain began to consider ending its rule in India. In 1947, the British government declared that all powers would be transferred to India by June 1948, but ongoing tensions and violence between Muslims and Hindus led to a consensus for the partition of India into two separate states. In response, the British government proposed on 3 June 1947 that any constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly of India would not apply to regions of India that refused to adopt it. Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India at the time, implemented a scheme for partition on the same day. Both the Congress and the Muslim League approved of Mountbatten’s proposal. As new borders were drawn and the world map was irrevocably altered, between 300,000 and 500,000 individuals perished on both sides. On August 15, 1947, at 12 a.m., India achieved independence, which was followed by Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous speech, “Tryst with destiny.”
The great British rule over India ended with the transfer of authority to Pakistan and India, two newly independent states. Lord Mountbatten was appointed the first governor-general of the new Dominion of India, while Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed the first prime minister of Independent India. The Constituent Assembly that was established in 1946 became the Indian Dominion Parliament.
On Indian Independence Day, the prime minister hoists the Indian flag from the Red Fort in Delhi, while the National Anthem is sung and soldiers discharge a 21-gun salute to commemorate the occasion.
The actual date of India’s independence is July 18, 1947, but Lord Mountbatten changed it to August 15 to coincide with the second anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allied Forces.
Red and green were the original colours of India’s flag, but Gandhi suggested adding a white stripe with a spinning wheel in the centre to represent India’s national progress.
Due to safety concerns, air traffic is prohibited over the historic Red Fort in Delhi.
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | August 15 | Tuesday |
| 2024 | August 15 | Thursday |
| 2025 | August 15 | Friday |
| 2026 | August 15 | Saturday |
| 2027 | August 15 | Sunday |
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