India is gearing up to celebrate its 75 years of Independence on August 15 but before the feeling of patriotism and celebrations comes a math-related confusion: Which Independence Day is it? This year the confusion has compounded as India will cross a milestone of 75 years of freedom from British Rule. So, is India celebrating its 75th or 76th Independence Day this year?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12, 2021 flagged off the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of Independence. It started a 75-week countdown to our 75 years of Independence. This means that India completes 75 years of freedom on August 15, 2022 and it will celebrate the 76th Independence Day.
But the confusion persists. Here’s how you can get rid of it:
India won its hard-fought independence from over 200 years of British rule on August 15, 1947. This means that on August 15, 1948, India celebrated the first year of freedom, 10 years on August 15, 1957, 20 years in 1967 and, consequently, 70 years in 2017. Therefore, India is celebrating 75 years of freedom from the British rule in 2022.
But if we calculate the number of Independence Days India has celebrated, it will be 76 since August 15, 1947 will be considered as the first.