India will commemorate its 75th anniversary of independence on August 15, 2022. To celebrate the occasion, the government of India is organising a series of activities under the banner of “Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav,” with the theme “Nation First, Always First.” To celebrate the event, the government plans to hoist 200 million Tricolor flags.
This is a wonderful day for all Indians. From the Red Fort in Delhi, the Prime Minister addresses the nation. This is a custom that began with Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, and continues until this day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the address this year.
History of Indian Independence Day
The ‘Purna Swaraj‘ resolution was adopted at the Indian National Congress session in Lahore in 1929. The INC moved their demand to complete independence, a shift from their previous dominion status.
The resolution was passed after discussions between Lord Irwin and Indian delegates fell down. The British wanted to grant India dominion status. Indians demanded complete independence, as advocated by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Tej Bahadur Sapru.
Because the delegates were unable to achieve an agreement, the INC decided to seek solely complete independence and designated January 26, 1930, as the first ‘Independence Day.’
After the INC passed the resolution, Nehru raised the national flag on the banks of the Ravi in Lahore on December 29, 1929. “The Congress is hosting its most historic session and will take a significant step forward in the struggle for the country’s independence,” he stated.
Until 1947, India observed January 26 as Independence Day. It was also the date on which India approved the Constitution and became a republic in 1950. We celebrate the day as Republic Day today.
Why was the 15th of August chosen as India’s Independence Day?
After years of struggle, the Indians forced the British to surrender control of the nation. The British parliament then gave Lord Mountbatten the authority to hand over sovereignty to India by June 30, 1948. Mountbatten served as India’s last British governor-general.
Indian independence warriors protested the delay in granting India independence. Mountbatten chose to move the date forward to August 15, 1947. He defended it by claiming he didn’t want any violence or unrest.
Mountbatten selected August 15 as the date of Indian independence to coincide with the second anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Mountbatten declared in his own words, as reported in Freedom at Midnight, “The date I chose came out of the blue. I chose it in reply to a question. I was determined to show I was the master of the whole event. When they asked if we had set a date, I knew it had to be soon. I hadn’t worked it out exactly then — I thought it had to be about August or September, and I then went out to August 15. Why? Because it was the second anniversary of Japan’s surrender.“
On July 4, 1947, the British House of Commons passed the Indian Independence Bill in response to Mountbatten’s decision. It was agreed to divide India and Pakistan into two independent dominions.
The Indian Independence Day, which is celebrated religiously throughout the country on the 15th of August every year, holds a significant place in the list of national days because it reminds every Indian of the dawn of a new beginning, the beginning of an era of deliverance from the clutches of more than 200 years of British colonialism. India’s independence was a test of fate, since the war for freedom was lengthy and exhausting, requiring the sacrifices of many freedom fighters who put their lives on the line.
Some Other Posts :-
THE AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION: ARTICLE 368
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OF INDIA
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGES IN INDIA
INDIAN CONSTITUTION : A LIVING DOCUMENT
