Independence Day 2024: PM Modi sets record with 98-minute speech from historic Red Fort
PTC Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his longest Independence Day speech to date on Thursday, lasting 98 minutes from the historic Red Fort. This speech not only surpassed his previous records but also set a new benchmark for the length of Independence Day addresses by any Indian Prime Minister.
PM Modi’s Independence Day speeches have historically averaged 82 minutes, making them longer than those of any other prime minister. Prior to this year, his longest speech was 96 minutes in 2016, while his shortest was 56 minutes in 2017. This year’s 98-minute address also marked his third longest Independence Day speech overall.
PM Modi began delivering Independence Day speeches in 2014 with a 65-minute address. His speeches in subsequent years were 88 minutes in 2015, 83 minutes in 2018, and nearly 92 minutes in 2019. In 2020, he spoke for 90 minutes, and in 2021, his address lasted 88 minutes. Last year, his speech was 90 minutes long.
Historically, Jawaharlal Nehru and IK Gujral held the records for the longest speeches, with Nehru speaking for 72 minutes in 1947 and Gujral for 71 minutes in 1997. Nehru and Indira Gandhi also recorded the shortest speeches, with Nehru’s 14-minute address in 1954 and Indira’s 16-minute speech in 1966. Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also gave notably short Independence Day speeches, with Singh’s addresses in 2012 and 2013 lasting 32 and 35 minutes, respectively, and Vajpayee’s speeches in 2002 and 2003 clocking in at 25 and 30 minutes.
- With inputs from agencies
