I write this post to remind history and facts about Independence day. Independence Day is a very special and important occasion for the India and its people living in India. We celebrate it every year on 15th of August because India commemorating the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the UK Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act 1947 transferring legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly.
India still retained King George VI as head of state until its transition to full republican constitution. India attained independence following the Independence Movement noted for largely nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience led by the National Congress (INC)
Quote which inspire me,
Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.
History of Indian Freedom and Independence Day
India maintained good trade relations with the western world, till the East India Company defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah and set its sight on India with the aim of colonizing it. The East India Company took over and later the Crown ruled with the Viceroy helming the administration.
The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 put paid to the status quo with the Barrackpore Sepoy Mutiny rising up in arms against British rule, as did the Meerut uprising. Soon discontentment took serious proportions in the fierce battle of Jhansi, battle of Kanpur and violence and protests in Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat. The early wave of nationalism from 1885 to 1905 was led by liberalists like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya who were believers in moderate politics and boasted of legal, literary backgrounds.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the extremists comprising Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and several other leaders dominated the political climate by launching a fierce attack on British rule. They insisted on boycotting foreign products and insisting on ‘swadeshi’ or homegrown products. Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the call for ‘Swaraj’ and very soon the resounding of the slogan “Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it” filled the air.
From the Jalianawala Bagh tragedy to the Non-cooperation Movement and Quit India Movement, India’s struggle for freedom is chequered. The era of Gandhian nationalism gave direction to mass movements till the Quit India Movement or ‘Bharat Chhodo Andolan’ in 1942 finally shook the confidence of the British administration.
By this time, the two World Wars had already taken its toll on the resources of the British. Finally, the bridled determination of Indians led to the ouster of the British Empire. The powers were transferred to Constituent Assembly in India, and India was declared a free country. India gained its independence on August 15, 1947.
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.
~ Jawaharlal Nehru
On each subsequent Independence Day, the prime minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation.
Happy Independence Day!
Vande Mataram!
