Independence Day 2022: India is all set to celebrate its 75th year of Independence on August 15, 2022. On this day, the nation's first Prime Minister hoisted the tricolour at Red Fort to mark India's independence from the British Imperial Crown. Since then, it has become a tradition for respective Prime Ministers to hoist the flag and address the nation.
There are some PMs who had the opportunity to hoist the tricolour at the Red Fort several times while others missed out on the opportunity. Here is a list of all those who have hoisted the flag the maximum number of times since independence.
List of Prime Ministers who have hoisted tricolour maximum times
Jawaharlal Nehru - The nation's first Prime Minister has hoisted the tricolour 17 times from the Red Fort. He was the longest-serving Prime Minister of the country holding the post from 1947 to 1964. He joined the Indian National Congress in the late 1920s and became a prominent leader in the early 1930s. Nehru hoisted the tricolour for the first time on August 15, 1947, at the Princess Park near India Gate in New Delhi and not the Red Fort (as opposed to popular belief).
Indira Gandhi - Hailed as the Iron Lady of India, Gandhi hoisted the flag 16 times. She served as the PM from 1966 to 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984. She was the second longest-serving Prime Minister. Gandhi is also the first and till date only female to hold the Prime Minister's post.
A vendor arranges national flags for sale at roadside, ahead of the Independence Day, in Ghaziabad.
Manmohan Singh - The former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has hoisted the flag 10 times in a row after coming to power in 2004. Singh also served as Finance Minister (1991-96), Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance (1972-76) as well as Economic Advisor to PM Chandra Shekhar.
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Narendra Modi - The current Prime Minister of India has hoisted the national flag at the iconic Red Fort 8 times. He came to power in 2014 after a landslide victory against Congress. The Modi government has been praised for fulfilling some of the promises made during the election campaigns. These include criminalization of Triple Talaq, abrogation of Article 370, and proclamation of Citizen Amendment Act among others.
Border Security Force (BSF) personnel take part in a Tiranga Rally ahead of Independence Day, in Srinagar.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee - He has hoisted the tricolour six times since coming to power. Vajpayee served as the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai. During his tenure as the Prime Minister, India carried out the Pokhran-ll nuclear tests in 1998.
Rajiv Gandhi & Narasimha Rao - Gandhi and Rao have hoisted the flag 5 times each at the Red Fort. While Gandhi held the PM's office from 1984-89, Rao held power from 1991-96. Rajiv Gandhi's political career was been marred by several controversies, namely the Kashmir riots of 1896, conflict with Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Bofors Scandal among others. He had been assassinated by a suicide bomber from the LTTE while campaigning for elections in Tamil Nadu.
People participate in the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign ahead of the Independence Day, in Kanpur.
PMs who have hoisted the flag just once throughout their terms include Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964-66), Chaudhary Charan Singh (1979-80), Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1989-90), H.D. Deve Gowda (1996-97), Inder Kumar Gujral (1998-99)
Prime Ministers like Gulzarilal Nanda and Chandra Shekhar never got the opportunity to hoist the national flag at the Red Fort during their stints as Prime Ministers.
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