PM delivers longest-ever I-Day speech at 103 min, surpasses past records

The Independence Day address marked his 12th in a row, overtaking Indira Gandhi's tally and standing next only to Nehru's 17 speeches

From the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a 103-minute speech during the 79th Independence Day celebrations, making it the longest speech on record by any prime minister in India's history.

 

On Friday, PM Modi broke his own record of delivering one of the longest speeches lasting 98 minutes on Independence Day last year. Before 2024, his longest Independence Day speech was in 2016, where he spoke for 96 minutes. His shortest speech on record is the 2017 Independence Day, which went on for 56 minutes.

Modi broke Indira Gandhi's record

On India’s 79th Independence Day, Modi surpassed Indira Gandhi’s record with his 12th consecutive Red Fort address, second only to Jawaharlal Nehru’s 17 in a row. Modi had delivered his first Independence Day speech in 2014.

 

Here's the duration of some of Modi's Independence Day speech:

• 2014: 65 minutes
• 2015: 88 minutes
• 2018: 83 minutes
• 2019: 92 minutes
• 2020: 90 minutes
• 2021: 88 minutes
• 2022: 74 minutes
• 2023: 90 minutes

According to news agency PTI, before Modi, the longest Independence Day speeches were delivered by Nehru in 1947 (72 minutes) and I K Gujral in 1997 (71 minutes).

 

Meanwhile, Nehru (1954) and Gandhi (1966) hold the record for the shortest addresses, both just 14 minutes long. Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also gave some of the briefest speeches. Singh’s 2012 and 2013 addresses lasted 32 and 35 minutes, while Vajpayee spoke for 25 minutes in 2002 and 30 minutes in 2003.

PM Modi's Independence Day speech

Dressed in a white shirt and orange bandi, with a saffron turban covering his head, the PM on Friday, focused on several areas, including artificial intelligence (AI) and deep tech, energy independence, nuclear power, and national security during his speech. 

 

One of the major highlights of PM Modi's speech was his reference to Operation Sindoor. Modi saluted the armed forces, saying they "punished the enemy beyond their imagination" after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where tourists were killed based on their religion.

 

PM Modi also highlighted the role of technology in shaping India’s future."50-60 years ago, India had debated semiconductor manufacturing but the opportunity was murdered. Now most of the countries in the world are betting on this technology." Now, he said, "the government has cleared four semiconductor units, with Made in India chips expected in the market by year-end."