Indian Independence Day (copy)

Today, 15th of August 2007 marks the 60th anniversary of Indian independence. To all my Indian friends out there I would like to wish you all a very nice day with lots of celebrations.

It was my friend CP who brought today's Indian celebrations to my attention. CP and his wife also have another reason to celebrate today ..... Their daughter gave birth to a little girl earlier today. Congratulations to the whole family.

The day of Independence is to commemorate India's independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on 15th of August 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. It is celebrated all over the country through flag-hoisting ceremony and distribution of sweets. The main celebration takes place in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister raises the national flag at the Red Fort and delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts. In his speech, he highlights the achievements of the government during the past year, raises important issues and gives a call for further development.

"Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by
narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from
the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches
its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary
desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is lead forward by thee
into ever-widening thought and action-
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father,
let my country awake."

"GEETANJALI"
-Rabindranath Tagore