Independence Day in 2025

When is Indian Independence Day?

Indian Independence Day is always celebrated on August 15th. It is the National Day of India.

Also known as 'I-Day', this public holiday marks the date in 1947 when India became an independent country.

This holiday is a dry day in India when the sale of alcohol is not permitted.

History of Indian Independence Day

The British established their first outpost on the Indian Subcontinent in 1619 at Surat on the northwestern coast.

By the end of that century, the East India Company had opened three more permanent trading stations at Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.

The British continued to expand their influence in the region until, by the mid-nineteenth century, they had control over most of what is present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In 1857, a rebellion in northern India by mutinous Indian soldiers led the British Government to transfer all political power from the East India Company to the Crown. The British began controlling most of India directly while administering the rest through treaties with local rulers.

In the late Nineteenth Century, the initial moves were taken toward self-government in British India by the appointment of Indian councillors to advise the British viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members.

In 1920, Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi transformed the Indian National Congress political party into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The party used both parliamentary and nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to achieve independence. Other leaders, notably Subhash Chandra Bose, also adopted a military approach to the movement. The movement culminated in the independence of the subcontinent from the British Empire and the formation of India and Pakistan.

Thus, on August 15th 1947, India became a dominion within the Commonwealth. Friction between Hindus and Muslims led the British to partition British India, creating East and West Pakistan. India became a republic within the Commonwealth after promulgating its constitution on 26 January 1950, which is now the Republic Day holiday.

How is Indian Independence Day Celebrated?

Although this day is a patriotic celebration across the length and breadth of the country, the biggest annual celebration takes place at the Red Fort in Delhi, where the Prime Minister raises the national flag in synchronization with a 21-gun salute. After the Prime Minister gives a televised speech, a patriotic parade takes place to honour the members of the Indian armed forces and police.

People also celebrate by flying kites, which became a symbol of independence as Indian revolutionaries used to fly kites with slogans to protest against British rule. Since then, recreational and competitive kite flying has become one of Independence Day’s most popular traditions.

National Flag of India

On this day, the Prime Minister of India will hoist the tricolour at Red Fort before addressing the nation from the ramparts. On Independence Day, the flag is hoisted, which is to say it is kept folded somewhere in the middle of the flag pole and is pulled up to the top and unfurled.

The other public holiday in India is January 26th, India’s Republic Day. On this day, the President of India unfurls the flag on Rajpath before presiding over a parade that showcases India’s military might and cultural diversity. On this day, the tricolour isn’t hoisted, it is merely unfurled. It is folded up and rests on top of the flag pole, unlike on August 15th, when it is in the middle before being unfurled.

This is a minor difference between the two ceremonies but the significance is great. The hoisting of the flag signifies the rise of a new nation, free from colonial domination. Whereas on Republic Day, the flag is already on top of the flag pole and signifies that it is one of a free nation. 

The Indian national flag is a horizontal tricolour of saffron, white and green. The wheel in the centre is a representation of the chakra, which appears on the abacus of Ashoka's pillar.

The flag was approved on July 22nd 1947 and presented to the Indian nation on August 15th 1947 when Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, raised the flag at Lahore Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi.

The colour saffron, represents courage, sacrifice and renunciation. The white denotes truth and purity and the green stands for life, faith and chivalry. The wheel symbolises unceasing motion and progress.

Video made with InVideo.