Independence Day 2023: Every year India celebrates Independence Day with grandeur, gaiety, fervour and enthusiasm. This year too, the country is gearing up to celebrate its 77th Independence Day on August 15. This occasion stands as a significant commemoration of the nation's liberation from British colonial rule, which persisted for nearly two centuries.
Independence Day is celebrated in every corner of India with much zeal and fervour and the hoisting of the Tricolor by the Prime Minister is the highlight of the celebration. The theme for Independence Day 2023 is "Nation First, Always First". All the programmes and events on this day will be based on this theme.
Independence celebrations in Delhi at Red Fort
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released the schedule of the 77th Independence Day celebrations which will be adorned with vibrant cultural festivities, patriotic melodies and traditional gestures of nationalism. As per the advisory issued by the ministry, the celebration of the Independence Day ceremony or hoisting of the National Flag in the state capitals or district headquarters/subdivision should start after 9 am.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the Nation in celebrating this historic 77th Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi.
Ceremonial salute at Red Fort
The Independence Day ceremony at Red Fort will be consisting of the presentation of a Guard of Honour by the Armed Forces and the Delhi Police to the Prime Minister. On the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in front of the Lahore Gate of Red Fort, he will be received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar.
The General Officer Commanding (GoC), Delhi Area, will then conduct the Prime Minister to the saluting base where a combined inter-services and police guards will present a general salute to PM Modi. Thereafter, the Prime Minister will inspect the Guard of Honour. The Guard of Honour contingent for the Prime Minister will consist of one officer from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police.
The ceremony will be followed by the hosting of the National Flag accompanied by the playing of the National Anthem and firing of a 21-gun salute, showering of flower petals by the helicopters of the Indian Air Force.
The event will then be succeeded by a speech by the Prime Minister, the singing of the National Anthem immediately after the PM's speech and the release of the tri-coloured balloons into the sky at the end.
Later in the evening, the ‘At Home’ reception will be hosted by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. A diverse set of guests apart from the usual protocol invitees will be present at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The invitees include frontline health workers, achievers in different fields, Padma awardees, student toppers, researchers/innovators and others across nations.
Special guests for Independence celebrations
US Congressman Ro Khanna will witness the unfurling of the Tricolour flag at Red Fort and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on Independence Day. Khanna is leading the delegation with Congressman Michael Waltz. Both co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans.
The delegation led by Ro Khanna also includes Michael Waltz. These two are the co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. The delegation also includes Deborah Ross, Kat Cammack, Shri Thanedar and Jasmine Crockett along with Rich McCormick and Ed Case.
1,800 special guests from all over India
According to the official statement, around 1,800 special guests from all across the country will be attending the Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony at the Red Fort in New Delhi this year.
The special guests who have been invited along with their spouses to attend the Independence Day celebrations in New Delhi this year include sarpanches of Vibrant Villages, teachers, nurses, farmers, fishermen, ashram yogis who helped build the Central Vista Project in New Delhi, khadi sector workers, national award-winning school teachers, Border Roads Organisation workers and those who helped and worked for the Amrit Sarovar Projects and Har Ghar Jal Yojana Projects, implemented in various parts of the country.
Two beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme (PM-KISAN), from the state of Maharashtra, will witness the Independence Day celebrations as Special Guests. As many as 50 beneficiaries of the scheme, along with their families, are among around 1,800 persons who have been invited to listen to Prime Minister Modi’s address to the nation from the Red Fort.
Apart from this, fifty nurses, along with their families have been invited to listen to Prime Minister Modi’s address to the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument. Of these three nurses are from Haryana, and will witness the Independence Day celebrations as Special Guests.
