Independence Day is annually celebrated on 15 August, as a national holiday in India celebrating the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the UK Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act 1947 transferring legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly.
Independence Day is a day when people in India pay homage to their leaders and those who fought for India’s freedom in the past.
The struggle for India’s Independence began in 1857 with the Sepoy Mutiny in Meerut. Later, in the 20th century, the Indian National Congress and other political organizations, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, launched a countrywide independence movement. Colonial powers were transferred to India on August 15, 1947.
On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi.
India’s national flag is a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of the flag’s width to its length is two to three. A navy-blue wheel in the center of the white band represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the “Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.”
On August 15, 2019, on the eve of the 73rd Independence Day Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the flag on Red Fort in Delhi. Twenty-one gunshots are fired in honor of the solemn occasion. Modi will address the nation with his speech, the Prime Minister highlights the past year’s achievements, raises important issues and calls for further development. He pays tribute to the leaders of the Indian independence movement. The Indian national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana”, is sung. The speech is followed by march past of divisions of the Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces.