09-08-2025
India and Pakistan got independent on same day but they celebrate Independence Day on different dates due to..., reason will shock you
File
India gained independence from the British colonial regime on August 15, 1947, while Pakistan was also formed on the same day, thus the date technically is Independence Day for both countries.
However, the two neighboring countries celebrate their respective Independence Day on separate dates– August 14 (Pakistan) and August 15 (India). Here's why. Why India and Pakistan celebrate Independence Day on different dates?
Interestingly, August 15 is also recognized as Independence Day in Pakistan, which is evident from its commemorative postage stamp issued in July 1948, that mentions August 15, 1947 as the country's Independence Day, according to report by the Pakistan's Tribune newspaper.
However, according to historical reports, it is believed that Lord Mountbatten– the last Viceroy of British India– handed over power to Pakistan on the August 14 in Karachi, before travelling to New Delhi and handing over the charge to India's first independent government on August 15.
Thus, Pakistan technically became independent from the British a day earlier than India, hence the reason for its separate Independence Day.
Historians says that Lord Mountbatten was planned to hand over power both India and Pakistan at August 15 midnight, but renowned Pakistani historian Khurshid Kamal Aziz writes in his book 'Murder of History', that the Viceroy was inclined to transfer power separately to both countries as he was the sole representative of the British Raj in India. Did India and Pakistan celebrate Independence Day on same day?
After the transfer of power, the Pakistani cabinet along with the country's founder and first Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah, took oath on the morning of August 15, 1947, and according to historical records, Pakistan celebrated the date as its first Independence Day.
However, a year later, in 1948, Pakistan changed its Independence Day from August 15 to August 14, as a large section of Pakistan's population did not want to share the occasion with India.
