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Independence Day 2016: Why do we celebrate our independence on August 15?

All that you must know about the freedom of India and August 15.

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On August 15, 1947, India's freedom struggles finally ended. British Raj, or as all know it, the British colonial rule in India ended on this day. The day is celebrated with a lot of pride and zest. The official celebration is held at the Red Fort in New Delhi, since Delhi has always been the political hub of India. But before we indulge in celebration, here are a few interesting facts about the day that you might want to know.

It all began when the East India Company arrived at in India in 1600s. Although, their initial motive was commercial, soon, they began colonising and exercising military and administrative controls. By 1757, a large part of the country had submitted to the British governance.

Unfair rule and resentment among the Indian populace grew over the years. The first organised revolt, also regarded as India's First War of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny, sparked by an incident at a Barrackpore army barrack, started in Meerut. As the turmoil grew, the administrative control shifted from East India Company to the British Crown in London, with the Company being dissolved in1858. The Crown's rule lasted from 1858 to 1947, through Viceroy and Governor-Generals posted in India.

Amongst the alienated Indian population, leaders began to rise. Freedom fighters like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad were just a few amongst hundreds who not only fought for their country, but epitomised patriotism.

Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai, Jawaharlal Nehru were the one under whose able tutelage India ushered in her long-awaited freedom.

But independence came at a price. Following years of violent, non-violent and non-cooperation movements, India received freedom, after the partition of Pakistan and India. The division of the two nations solely on the grounds of religion, damaged the harmony between the two sides.

On August 15, 1947, at the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort, the national flag of India was unfurled in all its glory by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

As the Independence Day speech for Prime Ministers have since been the custom - Tryst With Destiny - the speech delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru, shall forever remain the superlative.

Nehru said, "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance."

Today, after completing 69 years as an independent democratic nation, the flag shall fly in the same glory as it did for the first time. Following the customs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the flag at the Red Fort, in Delhi, followed by the speech; other politicians will follow suit in their own states and constituencies. On this day, progression towards a better India for tomorrow shall forever be our pledge to our forefathers to whom we owe the freedom of this great nation.

 

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