New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort on Saturday lasted 75 minutes, making it his shortest speech in four
years and the fourth shortest of his tenure.
The 75-minute address was notably shorter than his speech last year, when he spoke for 103 minutes on India’s 79th Independence Day. That address was his longest and surpassed his previous record of 98 minutes, delivered in 2024.
A look at PM Modi’s Independence Day speech lengths
PM Modi’s first Independence Day address as Prime Minister came in 2014 and lasted 65 minutes. His subsequent speeches have varied considerably in length.
His 2015 address lasted 88 minutes, while he spoke for 96 minutes in 2016. In 2017, his speech lasted just 56 minutes, the shortest Independence Day address of his tenure.
The Prime Minister spoke for 83 minutes in 2018 and nearly 92 minutes in 2019. His 2020 address lasted 90 minutes, followed by 88 minutes in 2021 and 74 minutes in 2022. In 2023, he delivered a 90-minute speech.
13th consecutive Red Fort address
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 speeches from the historic venue.
He now stands second only to Jawaharlal Nehru, who delivered 17 consecutive Independence Day addresses.
Before PM Modi, Nehru delivered a 72-minute Independence Day speech in 1947, while former Prime Minister I K Gujral spoke for 71 minutes in 1997.
Some of the shortest addresses have also come from India’s longest-serving leaders. Nehru’s 1954 speech and Indira Gandhi’s 1966 address each lasted just 14 minutes.
Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also delivered relatively short addresses. Singh spoke for 32 minutes in 2012 and 35 minutes in 2013, while Vajpayee’s speeches lasted 25 minutes in 2002 and 30 minutes in 2003.
