Bristi Dey
August 15 was not random. Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, chose August 15 as India’s Independence Day because it marked the second anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allies in 1945. For Mountbatten, the date carried symbolic weight, representing the triumph of peace over war as India embarked on its journey as a free nation.
Public hoisting of the Indian flag was banned on regular days before 2002. Common public could only hoist the flag on special days like the Independence Day or Republic Day. Then in January 26, 2002 the Flag Code of India, came into effect and all the restrictions regarding the same was explicitly removed. Following that common citizens proudly could hoist the national flag on any day.
Our national anthem got its fair share of importance when the clock struck midnight on January 24, 1950. Prior to that, Jana Gana Mana was a regular poem written by Rabindranath Tagore which also later set to music, Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata was the real title of the hymn.
India celebrated its independence on August 15, 1947, but the Radcliffe Line, the boundary that would divide India and Pakistan, was publicly announced only two days later, on August 17. The delay added to the uncertainty surrounding Partition, as millions of people suddenly found themselves on the 'wrong' side of a newly drawn border. Families were separated, homes were abandoned overnight, and relatives found themselves divided between India, Pakistan and what later became Bangladesh.
August 15 is not only significant for India. Several other countries also mark the date as a day of liberation, independence or national celebration, including South Korea, North Korea, the Republic of the Congo, Bahrain and Liechtenstein, though the historical significance differs for each nation.