Is it the 76th or 77th Independence Day?

India gained independence from a 200-year-long British rule on 15th August in 1947. Ever-since, an independent India is painted in the tricolour of pride, sacrifice and exuberance as it commemorates its Independence, every year on the 15th of August.

On this day, India’s freedom struggle transcends the confines of school textbooks and performances, as it permeates through the countless forged boundaries of class, caste, religion, gender etc. The sight of- Indian flags for sale at every crossing, shops inundated with tricoloured kites and apparel and a tricoloured-lit India Gate, instills hope for a sovereign, secular and democratic India- oftentimes, fundamentally present but operationally absent.

Now to put to rest the customary confusion over year of completion, if we consider -15th August,1947 as the first mark of Independence, and hence the first Independence Day, 15th August 2023 will technically amount to 77th year of Independence. However, if we counted 15th August 1948, as the first anniversary since Independence in 1947, India would be celebrating its 76th Independence Day.

To conclude, this year India would be completing 76 years of Independence, and be commencing onto its 77th year of Independence. The theme for 2023’s Independence Day celebration is “Nation first, Always first” as a part of the broader “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebration. The government has also decided to put in place a number of programmes to acknowledge the nation’s wide diversity of culture.