PM Modi delivers 103-minute Independence Day speech
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday delivered his – and by any Prime Minister in history – longest Independence Day speech to date, as he addressed the nation for a remarkable 103 minutes (1 hour 43 minutes) from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
The Prime Minister began his speech at 7.34am and concluded it at 9.17am.
His public address surpassed his previous record of 98 minutes (1 hour 38 minutes) last year.
He first broke the record in 2015 with an 88-minute (1 hour 28 minutes) speech in 2015. In 1947, former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru delivered a speech of (1 hour 12 minutes) 72 minutes.
He spoke for 65 minutes (1 hour 5 minutes) during his first speech from the Red Fort in 2014, and 96 minutes in 2016.
Modi’s shortest speech was in 2017 when he spoke for around 56 minutes. In his radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ that year, he said he had received letters from people complaining that his Independence Day speeches were “a little too long” and promised to make a shorter speech.
In 2018, Modi’s address from the ramparts of the Red Fort was 83 minutes (1 hour 23 minutes). Subsequently, in 2019, he spoke for nearly 92 (1 hour 32 minutes). In 2020, his address lasted 90 (1 hour 30 minutes).