Indian
Independence Day is celebrated on August 15th every year. India was declared independent on the 15th of August 1947. Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister and Dr. Rajendra
Prasad became the first President of the free country.
Schools,
government offices and and people hoist the national flag
through out the country and put them up on the rooftops and the
buildings.
The
Prime Minister addresses the Nation after the flag has been unfurled
recounting the country's achievements of the year, discussing current
major issues and future plans for the progress of the country.
Recently, kite-flying has become a tradition on this day and people
can be seen flying numerous kites of all colors, sizes and shapes
symbolizing the freedom.
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Punjab-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava shubha name jage
Tava shubha ashish maange
Gahe tava jaya-gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he !
On
the 26th of January 1950, India became democratic and is the biggest democracy
of the world today. In 1956, India on the basis of languages, was
divided into 14 states and 6 union territories. Today there are 25
states and 7 union territories.
Independence day
or I-Day is celebrated all over the country with
flag-hosting ceremonies. Here is the US too comes a quiet celebration.
Don't forget to tell your kids a little bit about our history !
Do's
and Don'ts
Hoist
the Flag at a height in a suitable manner.
Do
not let small children use the National Flag as a toy.
Do
not use or buy plastic Flags.
Do
not use paper Flags to pin up on shirt pockets, etc.
Take
care to see that the Flag does not get crumpled.
Do
not use the Flag as a banner or for decoration.
Take
care to see that the National Flag is not trampled upon or torn.
Do
not let the Flag fall on the ground.
Do
not join cloth pieces to resemble the National Flag.
It
is a mixture of Sanskrit and Bengali. It was written by Bankim
Chandra Chatterjee
in 1876. It was the national cry for freedom from British oppression during the freedom movement.
Jana Gana Mana was chosen as the National Anthem of independent India. Vande Mataram was rejected on the grounds that Muslims felt offended by its depiction of the nation as "Mother Durga"—a Hindu goddess— thus equating the nation with the Hindu conception of shakti, divine feminine dynamic force; and by its origin as part of Anandamatha, a novel they felt had an anti-Muslim message. In 1937 the Indian National Congress discussed at length the status of the song. It was pointed out then that though the first two stanzas began with an unexceptionable evocation of the beauty of the motherland, in later stanzas there are references where the motherland is likened to the Hindu goddess Durga. Therefore, the Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas as the national song.
The
Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh unfurling the tricolour flag on the
occasion of 60th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort in
Delhi on August 15, 2006.
LET US BUILD A NEW INDIA
Dr. Mammohan Singh
On Independence
Day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a philosophical description of
India and laid emphasis on maintaining unity despite diversity of
religion, caste and language. Addressing the nation from the
historic Red Fort, he asked Indian nationals to rededicate themselves
to build a new India.
"Today from
this historic Red Fort, I appeal to every one of you to rededicate
yourself to build a new India.
An India that
is united in thought, not divided by religion and language,
An India that
is united in our Indianness, not divided by caste and region,
An India that
is united in seeking new opportunities for growth, not divided by
disparities,
An India that
is caring and inclusive.
While observing
that religions, castes and languages might be different, he said
"we are all Indians. In our progress lies the progress of the
nation."
"Our fortunes
and our nation's fortunes are intertwined. And working together, we
can make this fortune a glorious one," he added.
You can watch the
webcast of the 2006 Indian Independence Day Celebrations held in New
Delhi here.
Here is
the famous speech made by Jawaharlal Nehru
A TRYST
WITH DESTINY
Jawaharlal
Nehru
Long years ago we
made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem
our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. 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. It is
fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication
to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause
of humanity.
At the dawn of
history, India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries
are filled with her striving and grandeur of her success and failures.
Through good and ill fortune alike, she has never lost sight of that
quest, forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a
period of misfortunes and India discovers herself again. The
achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of
opportunity to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us.
Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and
accept the challenge of the future?
Freedom and power
bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a
sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the
birth of freedom, we have endured all the pains of labour and our
hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrrow. Some of those pains
continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future
that beckons us now.
That future is not
one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may
fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take
today. The service of India means, the service of the millions who
suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and poverty and
disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest
men of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That
may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so
long our work will not be over.
And so we have to labor
and to work, and to work hard, to give reality to our dreams.
Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all
the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any
one of them to imagine that it can live apart. Peace is said to be
indivisible, so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and also is disaster
in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.
To the people of
India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with
faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for
petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming
others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her
children may dwell.
The appointed day has come -the day appointed by destiny- and India
stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital,
free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure
and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often
taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us,
the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.
It is a fateful
moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star
rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a
vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that
hope never be betrayed!
We rejoice in that
freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are
sorrow-stricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom
brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the
spirit of a free and disciplined people.
On this day our
first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our
Nation, who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch
of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have
often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his
message, but not only we but succeeding generations will remember this
message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of
India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility.
We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however
high the wind or stormy the tempest.
Our next thoughts
must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without
praise or reward, have served India even unto death.
We think also of
our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political
boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom
that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may
happen, and we shall be sharers in their good [or] ill fortune alike.
The future beckons
to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavor? To bring
freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers
of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build
up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create
social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice
and fullness of life to every man and woman.
We have hard work
ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge
in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended
them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold
advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to
whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India
with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage
communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose
people are narrow in thought or in action.
To the nations and
peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to
cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.
And to India, our
much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we
pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.
JAI HIND.
How it all began ?
The
Revolt of 1857 shook the very foundation of the British rule in India.
The revolt proved a turning point in India's history though it was
suppressed by the British. It was the first serious attempt of a large
section of the country to throw off the British "Raj". After
the revolt the British parliament took over the entire responsibility
of governing India.
Mahatma Gandhi led the civil Disobedience Movement which was launched in
the Congress Session of December 1929. The aim of this movement was a
complete disobedience of the orders of the British Government. It
during this movement that it was decided that India would celebrate
26th January as Independence day all over the country. On the 26th
January 1930 meetings were held all over the country and the Congress tricolor
was hoisted.
The freedom for India's Independence continued.
"We shall either free India or die in the attempt; We shall not
live to see the perpetuation of our slavery" - Mahatma Gandhi who
led the Quit India Movement. The Congress passed the famous Quit India
resolution at a session in Bombay. The movement called for non-violent
but wide spread struggle for India's freedom. But before the
Congress could start the movement, the government arrested all the
major leaders and the Congress was declared illegal. Spontaneous
popular revolts broke out through out the country with the battle cry
of 'British Quit India'
On 9th December 1946, the Congress started its work of framing the
Indian Constitution. The Muslim league pressed its demand for a
separate country under the leadership of Jinah.
On 3rd June 1947, under the chairmanship of Mountbatten the Congress
and Muslim league leaders met and agreed that India would become free
on 15th August 1947 and the country will be partitioned under the
guidance of the Red Cliff Mission.
On the stroke of mid-night on 14th August 1947, India became
independent and was partitioned. The nation waited with bated breath
for the clock to strike the midnight hour heralding the birth of Free
India on August 14th - 15th, 1947.
At the special 'Independence meeting' of the Constituent Assembly
which began at the Council Chamber of Parliament building in New Delhi
at 11 p.m. on August 14th,1947, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru moved the
resolution that "After the last stroke of midnight, all members
of the Constituent Assembly dedicate themselves to the service of
India and the people." The opening song, Vande Mataram', was sung
by Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani at 11.05 p.m.
Prolonged applause greeted the President of the Constituent Assembly,
Dr Rajendra Prasad's remarks : "Let us also pay our tribute of
love and reverence to Mahatma Gandhi, who has been our beacon light,
our guide and philosopher during the last 30 years or more. The
President first addressed the House in Hindustani and then in English.
After the President's speech the House stood in silence for two
minutes in memory of those who had died in the struggle for freedom in
India and
elsewhere.
This was followed by loud cheers as Mr. Nehru approached the
mike....In his stirring speech he said ...."Many years ago we
made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem
our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. 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, then an age ends, and when
the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting
that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of
dedication to India and her People and to the still larger cause of
humanity". His speech however did not mention the partition of
the
country.
Today, "India Day Parades" and celebrations are held across
the US by the Indians residing here. These parades exhibit the
richness of the Indian culture, tradition, and values.
