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Indepence Day is a very special day for all of us, Indians. We celebrate or observe it on the 15th of August every year to remember the freedom we got from the British on 15 August 1947. Due to its celebration or observation on 15 August each year, our Independence Day is synonymous to 15 August. And we frequently use each of these terms, Independence Day and 15 August, in place of the one term. 

While celebrating our Independence Day each year, we pay our utmost attention to all our freedom fighters and take oath to keep our country free from outsiders. In its observation or celebration, print, electronic, and digital media organizations organize several different programs and contests. Television channels broadcast films on freedom fighters to make the celebration more patriotic. 

The actual official celebration starts on the eve of the 14th August with the President’s Address to the Nation. And the Prime Minister of India hoists the tricolor on the Red Fort (Lal Quila) on 15 August morning every year. After that, the PM delivers a speech that points out what we have gotten and what we will do in the future by keeping the welfare of every common Indian. There are parades and varied other shows on the Rajpath, now Kartavya Path. Many of us with our family members and close friends participate in the celebration at different places across the country.   

Celebrated on the 15th of August each year, Independence Day is a very special day or occasion for all of us, people residing in India/Indian people. It brings an opportunity for us to recall all freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives to make our country from British rule. On this auspicious occasion, we are encouraged enough to take an oath to keep our nation free at any cost. 

Independence Day History in Brief 

Our Independence Day, celebrated and observed on 15 August every year, is a special date and festival that enables us to commemorate our liberation from the British in 1947. It was the year 1757 when the last Nawab of Bengal got down by the East India Company in the Battle of Plassey. This defeat paved the way for the emergence of the British over Indians. Our real freedom fight began in 1857 when a soldier named Mangal Panday refused to support the British government, which remained unsuccessful. There was an establishment of India’s first political party, the Indian National Congress, in 1885. As World War I ended, Indian freedom activists started demanding for Swaraj or Self-rule from the British Government.  

Many leaders and activists in the Indian Parliament meeting held in Lahore in 1929 demanded the complete independence of India, or Purna Swaraj. A large number of meetings and a series of sessions with the British Government representatives and the Indian Parliament, forced Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy, to agree to make India free. On 14 August 1947, he divided India into two separate states/nations - India and Pakistan. The final dividation took place at midnight. So, this dividation marks 15 August as the first Independence Day of India.  

Independence Day 2023 - Is It the 76th or the 77th Celebration?

When we count years, many of us get confused whether Independence Day 2023 is the 76th or the 77th celebration. Before we come to a conclusion or final celebration number, we should go back a little. It was 15 August 1947 when we got freedom from colonial British rule. Our first celebration of Independence Day was on 15 August 1947 and our first anniversary celebration of Independence Day was on 15 August 1948. If we count the years for the anniversary celebration of our Independence Day, it is the 76th celebration. On the other hand, Independence Day 2023 is the 77th celebration if we include the celebration of Independence Day 1947 in our counting. As Indians, we should focus on enjoying our Independence Day this year whether it is the 76th or 77th celebration.  

Significance of Tricolor or Tri-color

Our national flag, which is hoisted at the Red Fort or kept hoisted at all government office buildings in India, has three strips of three different colors with Ashoka Chakra in the middle. Here is the importance of each color

• • Saffron - As the first strip of our tri-color, it relates to sacrifice, courage, and renunciation. It represents the countrymen who are always ready to sacrifice their lives to keep the country free from outsiders at any cost.   

• • White - Being the middle strip color, it represents peace, purity, and truth. It represents our commitments to nonviolence and truth.  

• • Green - As the last strip color, it represents our goodness, growth, and development. In addition, it represents our agricultural heritage.   

• • Ashoka Chakra - Being in the middle of the white strip on our national flag, it symbolizes the wheel of justice and represents our pursuit for peace, justice, and progress.  

Independence Day 2023 Theme