New Delhi: Citizens are grateful to Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Vir Subarkar who gave their lives in the line of duty and they helped build the country, Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the nation from Red Fort today on the occasion of India’s 76th Independence Day.
Before hoisting the national flag on the Red Fort and delivering the address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Rajghat and paid his respects at the tomb of Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of the nation.
Expressing gratitude to the freedom fighters who fought against the British rule, the Prime Minister said, “This nation is grateful to Mangal Pandey, Tatya Tope, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad, Ashfulkula Khan, Ramprasad Bismil and countless other revolutionaries who shook the foundations of the British rule.” He said, “Independence Day is being celebrated for freedom fighters and country builders. He said that Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, S.P. Mukherjee, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Deendayal Upadhyay, J.P. Narayan, Rammanohar Lohia as Vinoba, Nanaji Deshmukh and Subramaniam Bharti recalled prominent figures.
Emphasizing the contribution of tribal communities in the freedom struggle, Prime Minister Modi remembered Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sidhu-Kanhu, Alluri Sitaram Raju and Gobind Guru. He said that the above personalities were the expression of freedom struggle and inspired the tribal community to live and die for the motherland.
Also, Prime Minister Modi today paid tributes to freedom fighter and Maharshi Sri Aurobindo on his birth anniversary.