PM Narendra Modi breaks Indira Gandhi's record with 12 consecutive Independence Day speeches

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has overtaken Indira Gandhi’s record for the most consecutive Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort, delivering his 12th in a row on Friday. Only Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, has given more consecutive speeches — 17 between 1947 and 1963. Indira Gandhi, who served two terms between 1966-77 and 1980-84, addressed the nation 16 times in total, with 11 of those being consecutive.

Modi, who first spoke from the Red Fort in 2014, had last year broken Manmohan Singh’s record of 11 consecutive addresses. Singh served as prime minister from 2004 to 2014. Other leaders have had shorter runs. Lal Bahadur Shastri spoke twice, Morarji Desai and PV Narasimha Rao each for four years, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee for six years during his tenure from 1998 to 2004. In 2023, Modi also set a record for the longest Independence Day speech — 98 minutes. His annual addresses often combine policy announcements with reflections on India’s progress.