While Nehru had delivered 17 straight speeches, Indira Gandhi — who was the prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977, and then from January 1980 to October 1984 — gave the I-Day address 16 times of which 11 were consecutive speeches
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday delivered his longest — and eleventh consecutive — Independence Day speech at 98 minutes as he addressed the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
PM Modi’s Independence Day speeches average at 82 minutes – longer than any other prime minister in India’s history. His longest I-day speech before Thursday was 96 minutes in 2016, while his shortest speech was in 2017 when he spoke for around 56 minutes.
Modi delivered his first Independence Day speech in 2014, which lasted for 65 minutes. His speech in 2015 lasted for about 88 minutes. In 2018, PM Modi addressed from the ramparts of the Red Fort for 83 minutes. Subsequently, in 2019, he spoke for nearly 92 minutes, which was his second-longest to date. In 2020 PM Modi’s I-day address lasted for 90 minutes. His Independence Day speech in 2021 lasted 88 minutes and in 2022 he spoke for about 74 minutes. Last year, PM Modi’s speech was 90 minutes long.
When PM Modi took oath on June 9, he equalled first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s record of three terms. After Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi, PM Modi is now set to become the third prime minister to address the nation on 11 consecutive Independence Day events.
While Nehru had delivered 17 straight speeches, Indira Gandhi — who was the prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977, and then from January 1980 to October 1984 — gave the I-Day address 16 times of which 11 were consecutive speeches.
It was in 2014 that PM Modi gave his first Independence Day speech during which he announced a slew of new programmes such as Swachh Bharat and Jan Dhan accounts.
PM Modi’s Speeches Longer Than Counterparts’
On an average, the duration of PM Modi’s I-Day speeches has been 82 minutes.
The first speech, given by Nehru in 1947, lasted for only 24 minutes. On the other hand, PM Modi’s speeches have varied in length, from the shortest of 55 minutes in 2017 to the longest of 94 minutes in 2016.
Among the top-10 longest speeches before 2023, eight have been delivered by Modi. The longest speech to date is his 94-minute address in 2016, with most of his speeches clocking in at more than 80 minutes.
Interestingly, Chandra Shekhar is the only prime minister who did not get the opportunity to give an Independence Day speech as his tenure lasted from November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991, when his minority government collapsed.
Former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also gave some of the shortest Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort.
