Some Lesser Known Facts about India’s Independence Day

India and its citizens are all geared up with a feeling of patriotic exhilaration to celebrate their 73rd Independence Day on this 15th Aug,2019.

Here are Some Lesser Known Facts about India’s Independence Day:

1. Although India became independent on July 18, 1947, Lord Mountbatten declared 15th August as the date of Independence because this date observed the second anniversary of the surrendering of Japan to the Allied Forces during World War II.

2. India shares its Independence Day with five more countries on August 15, but with different years. The countries are Bahrain, North Korea, South Korea, Congo, and Liechtenstein.

3. Even after India became independent in 1947, Goa remained a Portuguese colony. Portugal made amendments in its constitution stating Goa as a Portuguese state. It was made a part of India in 1961 after Indian troops annexed the state to India.

4. At the time of independence, we did not have any National Anthem. Our current National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was crafted by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 and was officially adopted in 1950.

5. First War of Independence: The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion is known by many names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection, and the First War of Independence.

6. There was no flag hoisting on 15th Aug,1947. Our National Flag was hoisted in Red Fort for the first time on 16th Aug,1947 at 8.35 am and it was hoisted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who became India’s first Prime Minister in year 1952.

7. On 15th Aug 1947, when whole nation was celebrating, Gandhiji was in Calcutta spending his days in prayers and fasting and campaigning where Hindus and Muslims were killing one other almost every day.

 

8. The first cabinet of India took oath on 15th Aug,1947 and it consisted of 13 members belonging to 5 different religions including 1 woman.

 

9.Before independence, there were 565 princely states which were not part of British India. It was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and V P Menon who convinced the rulers of princely states to accede to India.

 

10. India didn’t achieve purna swaraj till 1950. it is somewhat ironic that when India eventually acquired freedom on August 15, 1947, it became a dominion: a constitutional monarchy with King George VI (styled the “King of India”) as its head of state in much the same mould as Australia or Canada today. Unlike those two countries, though, India abolished the monarchy, becoming a republic on January 26, 1950.