PM Modi now second only to Nehru in consecutive Independence Day speeches, overtakes Indira Gandhi

With his 12th Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi overtook former PM Indira Gandhi in delivering consecutive speeches from the Red Fort. He is now second to India’s First Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru when it comes to delivering speeches year after year.

It is pertinent to note that Nehru has given the most number of consecutive Independence Day speeches, i.e. 17 between 1947 and 1963. In her two different terms between 1966-77 and 1980-84, Indira Gandhi addressed 16 times in total, with only 11 of those being consecutive.

Modi, who first spoke from the Red Fort in 2014, broke Manmohan Singh’s record of 11 consecutive addresses. Singh delivered 11 speeches when he served as the country’s PM from 2024 to 2014.

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Meanwhile, leaders who had shorter runs were. Lal Bahadur Shastri spoke twice, Morarji Desai and PV Narasimha Rao each for four years and Atal Bihari Vajpayee for six years during his tenure from 1998 to 2004. VP Singh addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day only once in 1990.

HD Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral also delivered the I-Day speech once in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

Longest I-Day speech

Crossing the 100-minute mark, Prime Minister Modi delivered his longest Independence Day speech on Friday. PM Modi broke his record of delivering the longest Independence Day speech by an Indian Prime Minister. Last year, his address lasted for 98 minutes. It is pertinent to note that Modi’s Independence Day speeches average at 82 minutes — longer than any other prime minister in India’s history.

This year, the speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort clocked at an impressive 103 minutes. The Prime Minister covered a wide range of topics in his address. This included offering a comprehensive overview of the government’s achievements and outlining a roadmap for the future, anchored in the vision of a Naya Bharat and a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

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During his address, he also shared his ‘Made In India’ wishlist, urging the Indian youth and scientists to develop Indian fighter jets and semiconductor chips.