Two prominent Prime Ministers who never had the honor to of hoisting the national flag from the Red Fort on Independence Day are Gulzarilal Nanda and Chandrashekhar.
Independence Day 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the tricolor and address the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort (Lal Quila) for the 11th consecutive year as India celebrates its 79th Independence Day on August 15, 2025 this year. But did you know there have been Prime Ministers who did not get the opportunity to hoist the Indian flag from the iconic fort during their tenure. Let us find out why.
Which Indian PM’s never hoisted tricolor from Red Fort?
Two prominent Prime Ministers who never had the honor to of hoisting the national flag from the Lal Quila are Gulzarilal Nanda and Chandrashekhar. Gulzarilal served as the acting Prime Minister of India on two separate occasions, first on May 27, 1964 after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru— the country’s first PM, and again on January 11, 1966 after the passing of Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Both of Nanda’s tenures lasted for 13 days each and never coincided with August 15, thus he never got the opportunity to unfurl the tricolor at the Red Fort on Independence Day.
In case of Chandrashekhar, he became the 8th Prime Minister of India during a tumultuous time in late 1990 when the country was going through political instability. Chandrashekhar’s tenure lasted for a little over 6 months from November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991, after which his alliance government with Congress fell and new elections were called.
Thus, Chandrashekhar also did not get the privilege of hoisting the Indian flag at the Red Fort as August 15 did not fall during tenure.
Why PM unfurls Indian flag from Red Fort on Independence Day?
On August 15, 1947, India became an independent, sovereign nation after the British colonial rule ended in the country. India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru marked the occasion by unfurling the Indian flag and addressing the newly-formed nation from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort, starting a tradition that continues to this day.
Each year, the Prime Minister of India hoists the tricolor and addresses citizens from the Red Fort, presenting a blueprint of the government’s policies for the coming year.
