'Vande Mataram' First Played at Red Fort During Independence Day

India recently celebrated 80 years of being an independent country.

At the Red Fort in Delhi, a very special song called 'Vande Mataram' was played for the very first time during the official celebrations.

The song was also played right before and right after the President's speech on the night before Independence Day.

This song is 150 years old, and long ago it helped bring people of many different ideas together during the Swadeshi Movement.

The President thanked great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar for helping India become free.

Now a new law protects 'Vande Mataram' just like the national anthem, so the song cannot be insulted.

If someone purposely stops other people from singing it, they can be punished and even sent to jail.

During the celebration, the Prime Minister raised the national flag while cannons fired a 21-gun salute.

Two helicopters of the Indian Air Force flew overhead and dropped flower petals.

The Prime Minister said it is the first time after Independence that the song was played at the Red Fort.