Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Why India's Prime Minister hoists the flag at Red Fort
The Red Fort is a very old fort in Delhi, India.
A Mughal emperor named Shah Jahan had it built between 1638 and 1648.
Later, when British rulers took control of India, they used the fort for their army.
During the 1857 rebellion, Indian soldiers marched to the fort and made an old emperor named Bahadur Shah Zafar their symbolic leader.
In 1945-1946, the British held trials for Indian National Army officers inside the fort, which made many people across the country very angry.
When India became free in 1947, a leader named Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag at the fort.
Now, every year on August 15, India's Prime Minister does the same thing from the Lahori Gate.
It is a way to show that India is free, united, and independent.
The Red Fort was commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1638 and 1648 as the heart of imperial authority.
After the Uprising of 1857, the British Crown took over the fort and converted its halls into army barracks.
During the 1857 War of Independence, Indian sepoys marched to the Red Fort to declare Bahadur Shah Zafar the symbolic leader of their rebellion.
The 1945-1946 INA trials of Prem Sahgal, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Shah Nawaz Khan inside the fort sparked massive public outrage across India.
Nehru raised the national flag at the Red Fort on August 16, 1947, establishing the annual tradition of the Prime Minister hoisting the flag from the Lahori Gate every August 15.
- Who
- India's Prime Minister, beginning with Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947.
- What
- The annual national flag hoisting ceremony at the Red Fort on Independence Day, accompanied by an address to the nation.
- When
- Every August 15, with the tradition beginning in 1947.
- Where
- The Red Fort in Delhi, specifically at the Lahori Gate.
- Why
- To reaffirm India's sovereignty, unity, and independence, symbolizing that supreme political authority had returned to the Indian people.
- Monument
- Red Fort, Delhi
- Commissioned by
- Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
- Construction period
- 1638-1648
- Key historical events
- Uprising of 1857; INA Trials (1945-1946)
- First flag hoisting
- Jawaharlal Nehru, August 16, 1947
- Flag hoisting point
- Lahori Gate
- Occasion
- Independence Day, August 15