Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a 75-minute Independence Day speech on Saturday, making it his shortest address from the Red Fort in four years and his fourth shortest since taking office in 2014.
Modi delivered his 13th consecutive Independence Day address from the Red Fort as India marked its 80th Independence Day.
His speech was considerably shorter than last year’s address. On India’s 79th Independence Day in 2025, Modi spoke for 103 minutes, breaking his previous record of 98 minutes set in 2024.
Speech length has varied widely over the years
Modi’s longest Independence Day address before 2024 lasted 96 minutes in 2016. His shortest speech came in 2017, when he addressed the nation for 56 minutes.
His first Independence Day speech as prime minister in 2014 lasted 65 minutes.
In 2015, Modi’s address lasted 88 minutes, while his 2016 speech went on for 96 minutes. In 2017, he delivered his shortest Independence Day speech at 56 minutes.
His 2018 address lasted 83 minutes, followed by a nearly 92-minute speech in 2019.
In 2020, Modi’s Independence Day address lasted 90 minutes. He spoke for 88 minutes in 2021 and 74 minutes in 2022.
In 2023, his speech lasted 90 minutes before he set new records in 2024 and 2025.
Modi has delivered 13 consecutive Red Fort speeches
Saturday’s address was Modi’s 13th consecutive Independence Day speech from the Red Fort.
Last year, he surpassed former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s record of 12 consecutive Independence Day addresses from the historic monument. Modi now stands second only to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who delivered 17 consecutive Independence Day addresses from the Red Fort.
Modi’s 13-year run from the Red Fort reflects the continuity of the annual Independence Day address under his tenure.
Nehru, Gujral delivered longest speeches before Modi
Before Modi, Nehru and former prime minister I K Gujral delivered two of the longest Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort.
Nehru’s 1947 address lasted 72 minutes, while Gujral’s 1997 speech lasted 71 minutes.
The record for the shortest Independence Day speeches is held by Nehru and Indira Gandhi, whose addresses lasted only 14 minutes in 1954 and 1966, respectively.
Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh also gave shorter addresses
Former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh also delivered some of the shorter Independence Day speeches from the Red Fort.
Singh’s speeches in 2012 and 2013 lasted 32 and 35 minutes, respectively.
Vajpayee’s addresses in 2002 and 2003 were even shorter, lasting 25 and 30 minutes, respectively.
The duration of Independence Day speeches has varied significantly among prime ministers, depending on the issues being addressed and the broader context of the country at the time.
(With inputs from PTI)
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