Unknown facts about Indian Independence

India is the world's largest democracy, the nation with the largest road network, and the nation that gave the world chess, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus! India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-around socio-economic progress since its Independence. As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.

In India for the first time in 1608, the British East India Company gained total dominance in the nation by 1858.

The Battle of Plassey, one of the pivotal events in Indian history, lasted only a few hours, beginning at dawn and ending just before dusk. India was exploited and lived in poverty during the British occupation, according to many historians. British areas that were captured by the British were directly under British rule or the "British Raj." This includes the impact of Britain on several princely states. These areas were under the control of the British Crown but were governed by their own traditional leaders.

With Jawaharlal Nehru's renowned speech on India's "tryst with destiny," British rule came to an end at midnight on August 14, 1947, nearly 200 years later. Around 200 years is a considerable amount of time.

India and Pakistan used to be one country. There's a lot of contribution from these countries for Independence. 

There are some facts unknown to the public about Indian Independence. We will discuss some of them in a short time. Let's start----

1. National Anthem:

You might be rather perplexed by this, but it's true! We didn't have a national anthem on the day we celebrated our first anniversary of independence.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote the Indian National Anthem as a tribute to King George V. Oh, sure! Incredible, right?

In 1911, Jana Gana Mana was first printed in Bengali. It wasn't recognized as our national anthem, though, until 1950.

2. National Song: 

The Sanskrit song Vande Mataram, written by Bankimchandra Chatterji, served as motivation for the people in their fight for freedom. It shares the same significance as Jana-Gana-mana.

3. The Indian Flag's designer:

There have been many variations of our flag, and while it is frequently believed that Mahatma Gandhi was the one who designed the Indian flag, in actuality it was a freedom warrior named Pingali Venkavya who had the original idea.

The current form was designed in 1921 by Pingali Venkayya in Bezwada.

Initially, the two important populations in India were symbolized by the prominent colors of saffron and green. The idea for the Ashok Chakra and the white strip in the middle was created by Mahatma Gandhi. The white color represented different communities, while the Chakra was seen as a representation of advancement. Another interpretation argues that white denotes serenity, green represents faith and chivalry, and saffron stands for bravery and sacrifice. The current national flag of India was approved on July 22, 1947.

4. The hoisting of the Indian flag: 

According to popular belief, the flag of India was raised for the first time on August 15, 1947. However, that is untrue. According to legend, our national flag was raised for the first time on August 7, 1906, in Calcutta's Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park).

5. Nehru wasn’t elected as our first Prime Minister:

Yes, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, not Jawaharlal Nehru, was responsible. Sardar Patel won the Prime Ministerial elections with a clear majority, but he was removed from office because Nehru refused to serve as anyone's deputy and Gandhi had a soft spot for Nehru.

6. The Peacemaker: India

India has a history of promoting world peace. Certainly, history supports it! In the past a million years of her existence, India has never invaded another nation.

7. The Name: 'India’ 

India is named after the Indus River, which was the birthplace of the Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest civilizations. On the other hand, Bhartiya Ganarjya is the name of our nation in Sanskrit.

8. Trend Setter: Jawaharlal Nehru

This is an incredible beauty! The single-breasted jacket worn by India's first prime minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, became fashionable in the West after he was photographed in Vogue Magazine wearing his customary coat.

9. Multiple-Linguistic Freedom Fighters:

The Inspiring Soul of India - Bhagat Singh was a voracious reader in addition to being highly fluent in a variety of languages, including French, Swedish, English, Arabic, Hindi, and Punjabi.

10. It seems unlikely that Mahatma Gandhi would have missed the inaugural Independence Day celebration. However, it is true! Gandhiji was fasting in protest of the violence between Muslims and Hindus taking place in Bengal.

11. Because Lord Mountbatten was compelled to attend both India's and Pakistan's Independence Days, Pakistan's Independence Day was pushed up to August 14.

12. The border between India and Pakistan was drawn by British lawyer Sir Cyrill Radcliffe.

13. In recognition of the second anniversary of Japan's capitulation to the Allies, Lord Mountbatten designated August 15 as India's Independence Day.

14. India celebrates its Independence Day alongside South Korea, the Republic of the Congo, and Liechtenstein.

15. After India's independence, 560 princely countries became members of the union.

16. When India gained independence, Goa was a Portuguese state. It merged with the Union of India in 1961.

I hope that you have learned something new from this post. Share with your friends and family so that they also get to know about these interesting facts😊