PM Modi delivers 11th I-Day speech: Who holds record for most August 15 addresses?

On 15 August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru delivered his famous ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech on the occasion of India’s first Independence Day. Fast forward to 2024, and Narendra Modi is delivering a speech on the theme of Viksit Bharat 2047 to commemorate 77 years of Independence.

With today’s speech, Modi is equalling a new record with Nehru. He is the third prime minister, after Nehru and Indira Gandhi, to address the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 11 consecutive August 15 occasions.

Let’s take a closer look.

Modi’s record 11 speeches

Keeping up his turban tradition — he sported a multicoloured Rajasthani leheriya print turban — Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort for the 11th time this year, marking the 78th day of Independence.

In his speech, he honoured those who are taking the nation forward, saying: “Today, those who brave and courageous and hardworking are working to take the nation forward — be it our soldiers, our farmers, our youth. I salute them all.”

He also consoled the families who had lost their loved ones in the recent natural calamities. “In recent times, due to some calamities, many people have lost their lives. I want to assure their families that in this hour of grief and difficulty, the nation stands with them at every step,” he said.

In his speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi also asserted that India’s 140 crore citizens can achieve the goal of a prosperous and developed country if they walk shoulder to shoulder with united resolve. He said his government has worked to break the mindset of living with status quo by rolling out big reforms aimed at changing the lives of the middle class and the poor.

While this is Modi’s 11th Independence Day speech, his first came in 2014 during which he announced a host of new programmes such as Swachch Bharat and Jan Dhan accounts and since then he has made various key announcements on the day.

According to a Moneycontrol report, Modi has spoken an estimated 83,000 words from the ramparts of Red Fort in which farmers and poverty have been a running theme. An analysis shows that Modi’s speeches have retained the thrust on nationalism and focus on rural topics and focused less on themes related to religion and caste. Notably, since 2022, Viksit Bharat has been added to his speeches, with the initial reference being made in his 2022 I-Day speech.

Modi’s Independence Day speeches have also been marked for their length. His first speech in 2014 lasted for 65 minutes – and the length of his speeches has only grown since then. In 2016, Modi spoke for a record 94 minutes, making it the longest Independence Day speech.

On average, the length of PM Modi’s Independence Day address has been 83 minutes – longer than any other Indian prime minister’s.

Nehru’s I-Day record

With today’s speech, Modi has surpassed his predecessor Manmohan Singh, who delivered 10 Independence Day speeches during his tenure.

However, he is yet to achieve Nehru’s record — the first PM delivered a whopping 17 straight Independence Day speeches. He began on August 15, 1947 with the unforgettable ‘tryst with destiny’ speech. Nehru’s speech began: “Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes 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…”

Interestingly, a draft of that speech, released by the Congress later, shows that he had written about the country’s “date with destiny” but later delivered it as “Tryst with destiny”.

Nehru in his draft note wrote, “Long years ago we made a date with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the strike of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will wake to life and freedom.”

While Modi’s I-Day speeches are long, Nehru in comparison was succinct in his words. The first speech, given by Nehru in 1947, lasted for only 24 minutes.

Besides Nehru, another PM who has delivered multiple Independence Day speeches is Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi, who served as prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 to October 1984, addressed the nation 16 times, with 11 of those speeches being consecutive.

Notably, it was Indira Gandhi who delivered the longest Independence Day speech before Modi. In 1972, she spoke for 54 minutes, a record that only Modi broke when he stormed to power in 2014. Government archives show that the average duration of Independence Day speeches has increased over time.

History records show that Chaudhary Charan Singh, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, H D Deve Gowda and IK Gujral are the prime ministers who delivered Independence Day speeches only once.