India celebrates Independence Day; honours its Armed Forces post the success of Op Sindoor
By Simran Sodhi
New Delhi. On India’s 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the Red Fort, and also delivered a tough message to Pakistan – India will treat terrorists and those who aid them as one, and any future misadventure will meet decisive retribution at the hands of its armed forces. PM Modi also praised the military and said the operation had inflicted heavy losses on Pakistan, with new evidence of the damage surfacing daily. He reaffirmed that India would not bow to Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail.”
PM Modi, without directly naming the United States, also responded to US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff threat, vowing that he would “stand like wall” and protect the interests of India’s farmers. The PM further said the concept was not just limited to rupee or import and export, and asserted that depending on other countries was a “recipe for disaster”.
Talking about Operation Sindoor, the PM asserted that the forces were given full operational freedom after April 22 to decide the plan, timing and target of India’s response, saying the forces “punished enemies beyond their imagination”.
The PM’s address today on Friday (August 15, 2025) was delivered for 103-minutes which makes it the longest by any prime minister in India’s history. The PM broke his own 98-minute record from the 78th Independence Day last year.
His longest Independence Day speech before 2024 was 96 minutes in 2016, while his shortest speech was in 2017 when he spoke for 56 minutes. On India’s 79th Independence Day, PM Modi also broke Indira Gandhi’s record by delivering 12 consecutive speeches from Red Fort to stand next only to Jawaharlal Nehru, who delivered 17 Independence Day addresses in a row.
PM Modi, ahead of his address at the Red Fort, also extended wishes on Independence Day through a tweet, sharing a vision for ‘Viksit Bharat’. “Wishing everyone a very happy Independence Day. May this day inspire us to keep working even harder to realise the dreams of our freedom fighters and build a Viksit Bharat. Jai Hind!” the Prime Minister wrote on X.
One of the big announcements made by the PM during the speech was next-generation GST reforms that would come as a “Diwali gift” for the people. He promised that the reforms would significantly reduce India’s tax burden, boost the economy and make daily-use items cheaper.
The PM also announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra, a powerful weapons system to be developed by India, which he said would not only neutralised attacks from the enemy, but also hit back.
President honours Armed Forces after success of Op Sindoor
President Droupadi Murmu approved 127 Gallantry awards and 40 Distinguished Service awards to the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel on the eve of Independence Day 2025.
These are: 04 Kirti Chakras; 15 Vir Chakras; 16 Shaurya Chakras; 02 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry); 58 Sena Medals (Gallantry); 06 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry); 26 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry); 07 Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals; 09 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 24 Yudh Seva Medals.
The President has also approved 290 Mention-in-Despatches – 115 personnel of the Indian Army, 05 of the Indian Navy, 167 of the Indian Air Force and 03 of the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB).
A complete list of the awardees can be found on the link below:
