Independence Day 2024: PM Narendra Modi Delivers Longest 98-Minute Speech from Red Fort

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his longest Independence Day speech to date, lasting 98 minutes, from the historic Red Fort. This address surpassed his average speech duration of 82 minutes, setting a new record for the length of Independence Day speeches by any Indian Prime Minister.

His longest I-day speech before Thursday was 96 minutes in 2016 while his shortest speech was in 2017 when he spoke for around 56 minutes.

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On the 78th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a new milestone by becoming the Prime Minister with the third-longest duration for an Independence Day speech, having previously hoisted the tricolor and spoken for extended periods. Modi's inaugural Independence Day address in 2014 lasted 65 minutes, followed by an 88-minute speech in 2015. This year’s address was his 11th as Prime Minister and the first since beginning his third term.

In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an 83-minute Independence Day address from the Red Fort. The following year, his speech lasted nearly 92 minutes, marking his second-longest to date. In 2020, Modi's address extended to 90 minutes, while in 2021, it was 88 minutes, and in 2022, it lasted about 74 minutes. Last year, his speech was 90 minutes long. Prior to Modi, Jawaharlal Nehru and I.K. Gujral held the records for the longest speeches, at 72 and 71 minutes, respectively, in 1947 and 1997. Nehru and Indira Gandhi also gave the shortest recorded speeches, at 14 minutes each, in 1954 and 1966, respectively.