Narendra Modi delivers longest I-Day speech by any PM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a record on the 79th Independence Day while addressing the nation for the 12th consecutive year. On Friday, Modi delivered a 103-minute Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort — the longest by any prime minister in India’s history. He also surpassed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s record for consecutive Independence Day addresses.

Indira Gandhi, who served as prime minister between January 1966 and March 1977, and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, delivered a total of 16 Independence Day speeches, 11 of them consecutively.

Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s longest-serving prime minister (1947–63), addressed the nation 17 times from the Red Fort. Lal Bahadur Shastri, India’s second prime minister, delivered two Independence Day speeches — in 1964 and 1965.

According to a PTI report, Modi broke his own record of a 98-minute speech in 2023. His previous longest address was 96 minutes in 2016, while his shortest was 56 minutes in 2017.

On India’s 79th Independence Day, Modi’s 12 consecutive speeches from the Red Fort put him second only to Jawaharlal Nehru’s streak of 17.

Modi’s Independence Day Speech Durations

• 2014 – 65 minutes
• 2015 – 88 minutes
• 2016 – 96 minutes
• 2017 – 56 minutes
• 2018 – 83 minutes
• 2019 – 92 minutes
• 2020 – 90 minutes
• 2021 – 88 minutes
• 2022 – 74 minutes
• 2023 – 98 minutes
• 2024 – 103 minutes

Before Modi, the longest Independence Day speeches were by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 (72 minutes) and IK Gujral in 1997 (71 minutes). The shortest were delivered by Nehru (14 minutes in 1954) and Indira Gandhi (14 minutes in 1966). Former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also delivered relatively short speeches: Singh’s 2012 and 2013 addresses lasted 32 and 35 minutes, while Vajpayee’s 2002 and 2003 speeches were 25 and 30 minutes, respectively.