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India will be celebrating its 79th Independence Day tomorrow. Preparations are over all over the nation and a number of programmes have been scheduled.
On this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver citizens' addresses from Red Fort in Delhi and hoist the national flag as well. The Red Fort address is a tradition started by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1947, and continues to be one of the most watched events of the year.
PM Modi to Hoist National Flag for 12th Time
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak to the nation from the Red Fort for the 12th time consecutively. He is at the third position of the prime ministers who have raised the national flag the highest number of times at the Red Fort on Independence Day.
India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, has the record of unfurling the flag 17 times. The second place is held by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who unfurled the national flag 16 times.
PM Modi is on the record of delivering the longest speech from the Red Fort. He delivered a speech for 98 minutes in 2024. Previously, Jawaharlal Nehru made a speech of 72 minutes in 1947; this record was shattered by PM Modi with his speech of 88 minutes in 2015.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi also hold a record for their briefest speeches — 14 minutes. Former PM Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee delivered the briefest speech next.
PM Modi delivered his inaugural speech from the Red Fort in 2014. It lasted for 65 minutes. Since then, he has delivered numerous lengthy speeches from the Red Fort. Will he surpass his own record of 98 minutes?
This time also PM Modi is expected to address all the nations from the Red Fort. He can talk about India's very successful Operation Sindoor, and also about his vision of future of the country.
Given the significance of Operation Sindoor hailed as a demonstration of India’s modern military strategy there is speculation that the Prime Minister will use the platform to reinforce the message of national strength and security.
With the Red Fort backdrop symbolising India’s history and independence struggle, the speech is likely to combine reflections on the past 79 years with forward-looking plans for economic growth, technological innovation, and national unity.
