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15 August- Independence Day

Young Bites. Dated: 8/15/2018 11:16:06 AM

India celebrates Independence Day on August 15 each year. India became an independent nation on August 15, 1947, it is a national holiday and is celebrated with much fervour across the nation.
India will celebrate its 72nd Independence Day on August 15. Every year on 15th August the country celebrates freedom from the British rule. As we celebrate independence, we also celebrate the rich Indian culture and tradition. On Independence Day people exchange sweets, greet each other and hoist the tricolour. Parades are also held across the country on Independence Day to commemorate India's freedom struggle.
Independence Day is a national holiday and all members of the family, who are generally away on a normal day, gets to stay at home. You can plan a lunch or dinner with them and cook your favourite delicacies.
Independence Day is a day when people in India pay homage to their leaders and those who fought for India's freedom in the past. The period leading up to Independence Day is a time when major government buildings are illuminated with strings of lights and the tricolor flutters from homes and other buildings. Broadcast, print and online media may have special contests, programs, and articles to promote the day. Movies about India's freedom fighters are also shown on television.
The president delivers the '"Address to the Nation" on the eve of Independence Day. India's prime minister unfurls India's flag and holds a speech at the Red Fort in Old Dehli. Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs are held in the state capitals and often involve many schools and organizations.
Many people spend the day with family members or close friends. They may eat a picnic in a park or private garden, go to a film or eat lunch or dinner at home or in a restaurant. Other people go kite flying or sing or listen to patriotic songs.
Independence Day is a gazetted holiday in India on August 15 each year. National, state and local government offices, post offices and banks are closed on this day. Stores and other businesses and organizations may be closed or have reduced opening hours.
Public transport is usually unaffected as many locals travel for celebrations but there may be heavy traffic and increased security in areas where there are celebrations. Independence Day flag raising ceremonies may cause some disruption to traffic, particularly in Dehli and capital cities in India's states.
The Constituent Assembly, to whom power was to be transferred, met to celebrate India's independence at on August 14, 1947. India gained its liberty and became a free country between August 14 and August 15, 1947. It was then that the free India's first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru gave his famous "Tryst with Destiny" speech. People across India are reminded of the meaning of this event - that it marked the start of a new era of deliverance from the British colonialism that took place in India for more than 200 years.
The sport of kite flying symbolizes Independence Day. The skies are dotted with countless kites flown from rooftops and fields to symbolize India's free spirit of India. Kites of various styles, sizes and shades, including the tricolor are available in the marketplaces. The Red Fort in Dehli is also an important Independence Day symbol in India as it is where Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru unveiled India's flag on August 15, 1947.
On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation.The day is observed throughout India with flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and cultural events of school children. Millions of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu refugees trekked the newly drawn borders in the months surrounding independence. In Punjab, where the borders divided the Sikh regions in halves, massive bloodshed followed; in Bengal and Bihar, where Mahatma Gandhi's presence assuaged communal tempers, the violence was mitigated. In all, between 250,000 and 1,000,000 people on both sides of the new borders died in the violence. While the entire nation was celebrating the Independence Day, Gandhi stayed in Calcutta in an attempt to stem the carnage. On 14 August 1947, the Independence Day of Pakistan, the new Dominion of Pakistan came into being; Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in as its first Governor General in Karachi. The session was chaired by the president Rajendra Prasad. In this session, Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the Tryst with Destiny speech proclaiming India's independence.
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.
Similar events take place in state capitals where the Chief Ministers of individual states unfurl the national flag, followed by parades and pageants. Until 1973, Governor of State hoist the National Flag at State Capital. In February 1974, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.Karunanidhi took up the issue with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that Chief Minister should be allowed to hoist National flag on Independence Day just like how Prime Minister hoists National flag on Independence Day.
Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programmes take place in governmental and non-governmental institutions throughout the country. Schools and colleges conduct flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural events. Major government buildings are often adorned with strings of lights In Delhi and some other cities, kite flying adds to the occasion. National flags of different sizes are used abundantly to symbolise allegiance to the country Citizens adorn their clothing, wristbands, cars, household accessories with replicas of the tri-colour. Over a period of time, the celebration has changed emphasis from nationalism to a broader celebration of all things in India. The Indian diaspora celebrates Independence Day around the world with parades and pageants, particularly in regions with higher concentrations of Indian immigrants. On Independence Day patriotic songs in regional languages are broadcased on television and radio channels. They are also played alongside flag hoisting ceremonies. Patriotic films on freedom fighters like Bhagat singh are broadcasted to show the supreme sacrifices made by them to make India Independent by their struggle and dedication towards their country.