15th August 2021 75th Indian Independence Day Celebrations ✒ Shantha Celebrated on 15th of August every year, Independence Day marks the end of 190-year-long British rule in India. In 1947, India was declared as a free country on this day. On this day, the national flag of India is hoisted at multiple public places; Prime Minister unfurls the national flag at Red Fort in Delhi to commemorate this historical event. Along with the flag-hoisting ceremony, parade and folk-dance performances also take place. Multiple festivities take place in different parts of the nation. Independence Day History and Significance: In 1757, the East India Company defeated the last Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey, which marked the beginning of the British rule in India. The Indian Rebellion or the First War of Independence took place in 1857 which was a major yet unsuccessful uprising against the British rule. In the year 1885, India’s first political party, Indian National Congress was formed. And after the conclusion of World War I in 1918, Indian activists called for self-rule or ‘Swaraj’. In 1929, the Indian National Congress declared ‘Purna Swaraj’ or Independence of India at an assembly in Lahore. Finally, after a series of sessions and meetings between the British government and the Indian National Congress, Lord Mountbatten who served as the last viceroy of pre-independent India, agreed to the proposal. On 15th August in 1947, Lord Mountbatten partitioned British India into two new independent nations; India and Pakistan. A TO Z INDIA ● AUGUST 2021 ● PAGE 12