Independence Day was celebrated with much zeal and fervour at the iconic Red Fort in the Capital. People gathered in huge numbers to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama and a saffron and pink turban.
The public started cheering loudly as soon as the large screens installed at the venue showed the Prime Minister’s cavalcade entering the venue. Those who failed to gain entry inside the venue tried to catch a glimpse of Mr. Modi from the roads outside. Schoolchildren, in particular, were ecstatic and were heard shouting: “Modiji aa gaye [Mr. Modi has arrived]”.
“This is the first Independence Day function I have attended. I was very excited to see the Prime Minister. He is such an iconic figure. I feel inspired by him,” said Nishant, a student from a north Delhi government school.
A student who was sitting far away from the podium, jumped up and down with excitement on seeing Mr. Modi unfurl the National Flag and even tried to stand on the chair to catch a glimpse of him. “I wanted to see Modi ji from up close or shake hands with him, but that was not possible since our seats were far away,” he added.
Unlike him, a number of other schoolchildren who sat closer to the ramparts were luckier.
As his motorcade started leaving from the fort after the speech, Mr. Modi halted its movement to reach the enclosure from where the students were cheering him on and went to shake their hands.
Pratibha, a Class VII student from a school in east Delhi, could barely contain her excitement after meeting the Prime Minister. She said: “I had only seen him on TV. I feel so lucky that I got to see him in person and shake hands with him.”
The children, dressed in yellow and dark blue, sat in a figure formation to commemorate the number of years since Independence. They cheered Mr. Modi several times during his over 90-minute speech.
In his address to the public, Mr. Modi counted the achievements of the government and stressed on how each citizen should contribute towards the country’s growth.
He also pointed out how India was inching towards global development. Each time he spoke about the country’s development globally, he received a loud cheer from the crowd. The loudest cheer, however, came when the Prime Minister referred to India’s “human” reaction to the Peshawar School massacre and said that “each of India’s school cried that day”.
Nearly 150 students were killed in the December 2014 terrorist attack at Army Public School in Pakistan.
Mr. Modi ended his speech by asking the crowd to repeat “ Bharat Mata ki Jai ” and “ Vande Mataram ” after him.
