After independence, before the tricolor was officially hoisted in India, it was hoisted at the Indian High Commission in Canberra, Australia, as dawn broke there about four and a half hours earlier than in India.
Updated: August 14, 2026, 11:53 AM IST
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Independence Day fact: Why wasn’t the tricolor hoisted in India for the first time? India and Pakistan became independent on the same day, so how two different date? (PTI)
Independence Day 2026: Even the public who hoist the tricolor in every home probably doesn’t know that after independence, the tricolor wasn’t officially hoisted in IndiaIt was hoisted in AustraliaNo, it wasn’t hoisted by Netaji Subhash Chandra BoseThe slogan “Jai Hind” was certainly used by Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauj, but this tricolor wasn’t there then.
It was decided that this tricolor would be the flag of independent India on July 22, 1947, just a few days before independenceThe Constituent Assembly of India used to sit in the Parliament House, which was drafting the Constitution of the new IndiaThe Constituent Assembly had finalised on July 22 that the tricolor would be the flag of IndiaThe first flag of the freedom movement, the flag of Swaraj, was also tricolor, but it had a spinning wheel in the middle.
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The problem with the spinning wheel was that it wasn’t the same on both sides of the flagFrom this side, the large wheel would appear on the left, and from the back, the large wheel would appear on the rightSo, the spinning wheel was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra, and the tricolor was finally designated the flag of independent India on July 22, 1947But it wasn’t hoisted anywhere thenIt was decided that it would be officially hoisted after independenceBut events unfolded such that the tricolor wasn’t hoisted in India for the first timeIt was hoisted in Australia for the first timeBut Pakistan’s flag had already been hoistedNo, not because they gained independence on August 14 and we on August 15They had hoisted their flag on August 11, in their Constituent AssemblyAnd by the way, most people don’t know that Pakistan didn’t actually gain independence on August 14Yes, it wasn’t that Pakistan gained independence on August 14 and India on August 15.
If Pakistan has August 14 then why do we have August 15?
So why is Pakistan’s Independence Day on the 14 and ours on the 15? Why was our flag first hoisted in Australia, and why was Jai Hind chanted there? And where did Pakistan hoist its flag on August 11th? To understand all this, it’s important to know everything that was happening in those final days before independenceThis history is unknown to most of the public because people don’t talk about it and it’s not taught anywhereSo, let’s first clarify why the two countries have different Independence Days? The fact is that both countries have the same Independence DayBecause independence was achieved from BritainSo, it’s obvious that it couldn’t have been achieved without the approval of the British Parliament.
The British Parliament had duly passed a lawThe Act was passed in Parliament and King George II of Britain put his seal on it on July 18, 1947The name of the Act was the Indian Independence Act 1947And the very first line of that Act was, “As from the fifteenth day of August, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, two independent Dominions shall be set up in India, to be known respectively as India and Pakistan.” Meaning, India and Pakistan would be created on August 15thBecause the British ruled over the entire undivided IndiaAnd they were liberating that entire area, and that same entire area was being divided into India and PakistanThey were liberating the entire areaSo how could they liberate the Pakistani part on the 14th and the Indian part on the 15th?
There was confusion till August 15
The most important thing is that on August 15, the British didn’t even show anyone the map, indicating which part was India and which was PakistanYes, most of the public doesn’t know that when independence was achieved, it wasn’t clear what Pakistan’s border was and what India’s border wasSo, what was happening on the 14 and 15? This is something to understandThere were two types of regions in IndiaOne was the provinces where the British ruled directlyThe rest were the princely states and kingdoms whose kings, maharajas, nawabs, etchad the decision to do soIt was clear that West Pakistan would be formed in the west, and East Pakistan in the eastEast Pakistan means what is now BangladeshSo, in addition to the princely states, in the provinces created by the British, the British government held assembly electionsFor example, in Sindh province, more than two-thirds of the population was MuslimAnd the Sindh Assembly first passed a resolution in June 1947 that Sindh province would join Pakistan.
Story of creation of Pakistan
So, it was already clear that all of Sindh would go to PakistanBut in Punjab and Bengal, the eastern part of Punjab had a majority of Sikhs and Hindus, while the western part had a majority of MuslimsAnd in Bengal, the eastern part had a majority of Muslims, while the western part had a majority of HindusSo, it was decided that Punjab and Bengal would be dividedYou must have heard that Sir Cyril Radcliffe had drawn the border between the two countries, not for the entire India and PakistanRadcliffe had only drawn the border between Punjab and BengalAnd the map was finalized on August 12-13But Mountbatten was the British ViceroyHere, the Viceroy ruled in the name of King GeorgeMountbatten did not release the mapsHe decided to first let the ceremony of transfer of power between India and Pakistan take place, and then he would share the map with them.
Why did the British not tell the map earlier?
Historians say they feared that if the map was revealed early, riots might break out and the entire program might be stalledThe entire responsibility would fall on the British governmentSo they said, “Let the independence celebrations take place first, let both countries become independent, and then they will determine the border.” This meant that when independence was being achieved and all the celebrations were underway, the people of Punjab and Bengal didn’t know which part went to India and which to PakistanThis announcement was made on August 17So where were the flags to be hoisted when the map wasn’t even finalized? So, the Constitution of India was being drafted in the Constituent AssemblyThe members of the provincial assemblies elected the members of the Constituent Assembly, which was formed in December 1946It met in the Parliament House.
Why did Pakistan organise the program on August 14?
So why did Pakistan agree to this? It is said that the main reason was that it was the month of Ramadan, and the night of August 14, 1947, was the 27th night of RamadanThe 27th night of Ramadan is considered very auspicious in Islam because it is believed that the Quran was revealed on that nightSo Mountbatten left for Karachi on the 13th, and the ceremony took place there on the morning of the 14But Pakistan’s independence was also considered to be on the 15, because the British Parliament Act had the 15 as the dateIn a radio speech, Jinnah declared August 15 as Pakistan’s Independence DayThe first postage stamp issued by Pakistan also mentioned August 15 as the day of Pakistan’s formationThe ceremony simply had to be held on the 14.
