HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY 2022: India will be celebrating 76th Independence Day on August 15, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the national flag at the Red Fort in Delhi and address the nation. Every year the Prime Minister of India hoists the tricolour at the Red Fort and since 1947 it has become an integral part of the Independence Day celebrations.
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The hoisting of the national flag is a symbolic expression of India’s rise as an independent nation and the end of British rule. The ceremony at the Red Fort is also an expression of gratitude and respect to the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for a free India. The hoisting of the national flag at Red Fort is a long-standing tradition that inculcates a sense of victory and pride among the countrymen.
Following the hoisting of the national flag, the prime minister delivers a speech to the nation. The Prime Minister’s address to the nation from the ramparts of Lal Quila envisions India’s progress and its stride towards future as an independent nation.
Significance of Prime Minister hoisting the National Flag At Red Fort
When India gained independence, the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, commemorated the historical moment by hoisting the national flag above the Red Fort’s Lahori Gate and giving the “India’s tryst with destiny” speech.
The massive complex of the 17th-century monument served as the main palace of the Mughal Empire until 1857 before the British overthrew Bahadur Shah Zafar. The British then demolished more than two-thirds of the Red Fort’s interior and turned the section into garrison quarters.
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The famous rebellion of 1857, can be noted as one of the reasons why the monument became the site for flag hoisting as it caused the British authority to temporarily lose control in some parts of India. The Red Fort and its occupant, Bahadur Shah Zafar, became the prominent symbol of the rebellion.
The hoisting of the national flag at Red Fort became a custom after Prime Minister Nehru. Since then every prime minister has done so to pay homage to freedom fighters and to respect their martyrdom. The ceremony at the fort includes a guard of honour for the Prime Minister by the armed forces and Delhi Police, the hoisting of the national flag, a 21-gun salute, and the singing of the national anthem. Traditionally, the event concludes with the release of tri-coloured balloons.
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