August 15, 1947, the most important day in the history of India, the day when the long suppressed nation found utterance, it was the day when India got independence from the British rule.

The stroke of the midnight brought with it a ray of new hope for India, as our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru said, the world was asleep but India awoke to life and freedom. A new nation was born! Since then August 15 is celebrated as the Independence Day in India every year.

History of Independence

The struggle for Indian independence began with the colonialization of India by Europeans. They came to India as traders but over the period of time they rose to power took control of Indian affairs. British occupied most parts of India whereas Portuguese and French also had their influence on few places The first uprising which is noted in the history of independence of India took place in 1857.

This first war of Indian independence was termed as a mutiny by the British. Although not a success, this revolt sowed the seed for a new force, which was to take this struggle to its rightful end. As British oppression strengthened so did the urge to attain the freedom from it.

This urge found voice in form of many great leaders such as Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Khudiram Bose, Ram Prasad Bismil,Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to name a few.

These great patriots along with a lot unnamed freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation. Independence from the British rule was the sole aim of their lives. This dream of millions of Indians was realized when finally India got freedom on August 15, 1947. The joy of independence brought along with it the grief of partition! The country was divided into two parts - India and Pakistan. Pakistan assumed August 14 as its independence day whereas August 15 was declared the independence day for India.

Independence Day Celebrations

Celebrated all across the nation with great enthusiasm, the day is marked with the Indian flag hoisting ceremony at Red Fort and Prime Minister’s address to the nation. All the state buildings and structures of national importance are adorned with ‘Tricolor’. In the evening , sky is dotted with hundreds of colorful kites symbolizing the freedom.The soaring kites in the sky also signify the soaring dreams of independent India which wants to attain great heights and give the message that sky is the limit.

After India’s independence on August 15, 1947, India received most of the subcontinent’s 562 widely scattered polities, or princely states, as well as the majority of the British provinces, and parts of three of the remaining provinces. Muslim Pakistan received the remainder. Pakistan consisted of a western wing, with the approximate boundaries of modern Pakistan, and an eastern wing, with the boundaries of present-day Bangladesh.

The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocation of populations; inter-communal violence cost more than 1,000,000 lives. Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, andabout 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan.

In Punjab, where the Sikh community was cut in half, a period of terrible bloodshed followed. Overall, the demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified by each country’s accession of a portion of the princely states.

Adding to the tensions, the issue of the polities Kashmir, Hyderabad, and the small and fragmented state of Junagadh (in present-day Gujarat), remained unsettled at independence. Later, the Muslim ruler of Hindu-majority Junagadh agreed to join to Pakistan, but a movement by his people, followed by Indian military action and a plebiscite (people’s vote of self-determination), brought the state into India.

The nizam of Hyderabad, also a Muslim ruler of a Hindu-majority populace, tried to maneuver to gain independence for his very large and populous state, which was, however, surrounded by India.

After more than a year of fruitless negotiations, India sent its army in a police action in September 1948, and Hyderabad became part of India.
The Hindu ruler of Kashmir, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. A cease-fire was arranged in 1949, with the cease-fire line creating a de facto partition of the region.

The central and eastern areas of the state came under Indian administration as Jammu and Kashmir state, while the northwestern quarter came under Pakistani control as Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas. Although a UN peacekeeping force was sent in to enforce the cease-fire, the dispute was not resolved. This deadlock has intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.

In 1971, Pakistan was itself subdivided when its eastern section broke away and formed Bangladesh. Border disputes continue to embitter Pakistani-Indian relations, as Pakistan has produced a series of autocratic military rulers, while India maintained a parliamentary democracy.