India's 79th Independence Day — a national holiday, markets shut, and the formal anniversary of the transfer of power that took legal effect at midnight on 14-15 August 1947. It is also the date Japan's surrender broadcast reached its own citizens, a day after Washington had already announced it.
On this day
1914The Panama Canal officially opened to traffic as the cargo ship SS Ancon made the first full transit between the Atlantic and Pacific, a decade-long engineering project that cut weeks off sea voyages around South America.Syndicate Publishing Company via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
1945Emperor Hirohito's recorded surrender announcement was broadcast to the Japanese public for the first time, ending the Second World War. The recording had to be read from a prepared script in formal court Japanese that many listeners struggled to follow, and it aired a day after President Truman's announcement in Washington because of the time-zone difference.This Photo was taken by Reinhold Möller. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not public domain. Please respect the copyright protection. It may only be used according to the rules mentioned here. This specifically excludes use · CC BY-SA 4.0
1947IndiaOn the morning of Independence Day itself, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the national flag at Princess Park near India Gate in Delhi, not at the Red Fort. Nehru's now-iconic flag hoisting and speech from the Red Fort ramparts followed a day later, on 16 August.Gpkp via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Did you know
India's Flag Code was amended in December 2021 to permit machine-made and polyester national flags alongside hand-spun khadi — before that, the Code technically restricted the tricolour to hand-spun or hand-woven cotton, silk or wool cloth.