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India’s First Independence Day in 1947: Looking Back at a Moment Etched in History
India’s First Independence DayFreedom. Independence. Two words that mean different things to different people. But back in 1947, to the Indians, it meant everything. It meant bidding adieu to over 200 years of British rule, filled with tyranny and oppression. It meant relying on self-governance and taking India into the future where our people were second to none. But this independence or freedom didn’t come easily.
It took sacrifice, perseverance and a long fight against the British Raj by our freedom fighters. From Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent approach to Bhagat Singh’s inquilab, each contributed to finally signalling to the British that their time in India was up. On 15th August, 1947, as the Indian tricolour was hoisted by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, our nation’s fate—without the oppression of the British—was sealed.
As we celebrate the 79th Independence Day, let’s look back at the first Independence Day celebrations through photos and events that took place that day.
First Independence Day of India: How the Nation Reached 15 August 1947
After a long and relentless freedom struggle against the British Empire, India finally gained independence on August 15, 1947. Amidst massive protests across the country and the exhaustion caused by World War II, the British realised they neither had the public mandate back home nor the military resources to control the growing unrest in India.
On 20 February 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced that his government would grant full self-governance to British India by June 1948 at the latest. However, the newly appointed Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, preponed the timeline. Concerned that the mounting tensions between the Congress and the Muslim League might lead to a collapse of the interim government, he chose 15 August — the second anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II — as the date of power transfer.
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This decision came amid rising communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims. On 3 June 1947, the British government formally accepted the idea of partitioning British India into two separate states—India and Pakistan. The successor governments would be given dominion status with the implicit right to secede from the British Commonwealth. The Indian Independence Act 1947, passed by the UK Parliament, partitioned British India into the two new dominions of India and Pakistan, effective 15 August 1947, granting complete legislative authority to their respective constituent assemblies.
The decades-long sacrifices of countless freedom fighters — including Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Annie Besant, Aruna Asaf Ali, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and many others — finally bore fruit in August 1947.
First Independence Day of India: 15th August 1947 — The Day We Had Our Tryst With Destiny
On the midnight of August 14, 1947, power was formally transferred from the British government to the government of independent India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was sworn in as the nation’s first Prime Minister, and the Constituent Assembly, presided over by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, appointed Lord Mountbatten — the last Viceroy of British India — as the first Governor-General of independent India.
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Once sworn in, Pandit Nehru delivered his historic “Tryst with Destiny” speech.
Here’s an excerpt from his famous speech:
“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny. Now the time has come when we shall redeem our pledge - not wholly or in full measure - but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment 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. It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. At the dawn of history, India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and grandeur of her successes and failures. Through good and ill fortune alike, she has never lost sight of that quest, forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of misfortunes and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us.”
The full speech also paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi, acknowledging his pivotal role in the freedom struggle. Nehru urged the nation to work together for a brighter future. He concluded with a stirring pledge:
“To the nations and peoples of the world, we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.”
Following this, members of the Assembly took a solemn pledge to serve the nation. A delegation of women, representing the women of India, ceremonially presented the national flag to the Assembly. To share the historic moment with the masses, the Congress had arranged for free screenings of the Independence Day proceedings in cinema halls. As events unfolded in the Assembly, thousands of jubilant citizens gathered outside.
Inside the hall, leaders observed two minutes of silence for those who had laid down their lives for freedom. Since Jana Gana Mana was not yet India’s official national anthem (it would be adopted on January 24, 1950), the proceedings concluded with a rendition of Vande Mataram. The government also marked the occasion with gestures of goodwill: political prisoners, including Communists, were released; all death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment; and slaughterhouses were temporarily closed.
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In Delhi, the mood was euphoric. Crowds thronged the streets near India Gate to witness history in the making. Lord Mountbatten and Prime Minister Nehru made their way to Princess Park for the ceremonial lowering of the Union Jack and the hoisting of the Indian Tricolour. As they proceeded, cheering crowds surrounded them in celebration. At Princess Park, India’s flag was raised for the first time on August 15, 1947. The following day, Prime Minister Nehru unfurled the Tricolour at the Red Fort — a tradition that continues to this day.
From Midnight’s Promise to a Nation’s Responsibility
The first Independence Day was more than a ceremonial transfer of power — it was the rebirth of a nation, forged through sacrifice, unity, and unshakable resolve. The midnight of August 15, 1947, marked not just the end of colonial rule but the beginning of India’s journey as a sovereign democracy, entrusted to shape its own destiny. While we’ve accumulated the official account of how the first Independence Day went, the people who were there have their own versions. To read those, you can dive into Veena Venugopal’s Independence Day: A People’s History.
As we celebrate our 79th Independence Day this year, the echoes of that midnight still remind us that freedom is both a gift and a responsibility. One we must protect, nurture, and carry forward for generations to come.
Source: Time Magazine, First Post, India TV, Indian Express, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
