New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Manmohan Singh Sunday became the third Indian prime minister to hoist the National Flag seven or more times at the 17th century Red Fort on the country’s 64th Independence Day.
The tradition was started by the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who unfurled the Indian tri-colour at this historic fort in the old quarters of the national capital as many as 17 times — from 1947 to 1964.

His daughter Indira Gandhi came next with 16 times, first between 1966 and 1976 and then again between 1980 and 1984.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one short of Manmohan Singh, unfurled the Indian flag at the Red Fort six times — 1998 to 2003.

Chandrashekhar (November 1990-June 1991) was the only prime minister who could not make a single Independence Day speech from the Red Fort. Gulzari Lal Nanda, who was interim prime minister briefly after the death of Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, also could not deliver a single such speech.

Other prime ministers who have delivered I-Day speeches from the Red Fort are Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao, five times each, Shastri and Morarji Desai, twice each, and Charan Singh and V.P. Singh, once each.

Why Red Fort?

This venue for unfurling the flag on Independence Day was chosen because the massive complex had served as the capital palace of the Mughul empire till 1857 when the British overthrew its last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, to start its rule over India.

The red-sandstone fort was built by Mughul emperor Shah Jahan. Its construction, on the banks of the Yamuna, began in 1638 and took 10 years to complete, according to information available in the country’s archives.

A rich and visually-appealing architectural fusion of Mughal, Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions, the complex was declared a World Heritage Site in 2007 by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).