July 4 is celebrated as "Independence day" in all of USA. But what's not so well known is this-

a) Only 13 of the current 50 states constituted the "United States" back in 1776

b) The United States did not win independence on July 4 - that happened 7 years later on Sep 3, 1783!

But then why is independence day celebrated on the 4th of July. Why not on Sep 3rd - the day the Treaty of Paris was signed between the United States representatives and the representatives of the British Crown in Paris in 1783 - ending the Revolutionary war?

It was on the 4th of July, 1776 that all 13 colonies adopted the "Declaration of Independence" statement in Philadelphia - thus announcing their intent to become independent of the British Crown.

The armed struggle to accomplish this intent took 7 more years. Independence was gained with the Treaty of Paris in the fall of 1783 as mentioned above. But it is the Declaration that captured the imagination of Americans! So July 4th stuck as the "Independence Day".

In India, the independence day is celebrated on the 15th of August - the day on which power was transferred to Indian hands formally in 1947.

However, India had its own "Declaration of Independence" - the announcement of the intent to gain independence 17 years before, in 1930

The Indian National Congress promulgated the "Declaration of the Independence of India" on 19th Dec 1929 - resolving to fight for "Purna Swaraj" (Complete Self-rule)

Gandhi hoisted the newly designed "Indian flag" (link below) on the 31st of Dec 1929 at Lahore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purna_Swaraj#/media/File:1931_Flag_of_India.svg

The Declaration was officially adopted the following month on the 26th of January 1930. The Congress exhorted all Indians to celebrate 26 Jan as "Independence day"

Post Independence, the fascination with 26 Jan subsided, unlike in the US! And we started celebrating 15 Aug as our independence day.

However the Congress leaders were atleast thoughtful enough to remember 26 Jan by deciding to commemorate it as the "Republic Day" starting in 1950 - when the newly drafted Constitution came into force

The American Declaration of Independence is regarded as the "founding document" of the American nation. Phrases from it have entered day-to-day usage!

Eg: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

In contrast the Indian "Declaration of Independence" is hardly known to anyone!

While Jefferson was widely regarded as the author of the American Declaration, we still do not know who on earth wrote the Indian "Declaration of Independence".

Gandhi as per some accounts claimed authorship once in 1940. While a lot of scholars ascribe it to Nehru.

The Declaration is a 750 word document in contrast to the American Declaration which is around 1400 words long.

Here's the link to the Declaration -

http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/historical_constitutions/declaration_of_purna_swaraj__indian_national_congress__1930__26th%20January%201930

Unlike the American founders who had great panache and vision to articulate in the document some of the most timeless prose, which had a far reaching impact on human history, the Indian authors drafted a declaration which strikes us as lacking in depth as well as panache.

The first statement in the Indian "Declaration" is partly a rip-off of the American declaration, particularly in its use of the term "inalienable". Here it is -

"We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that they may have full opportunities of growth"

Contrast this with the magnificent line in the American Declaration-

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

The Indian document, like the American one, has a section of "Indictment" where it talks about the different ways in which India has been "ruined" economically, politically, culturally and spiritually by British rule.

In its concluding section it declares -

"We hold it to be a crime against man and God to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this fourfold disaster to our country"

While at the same time disavowing violence -

"We recognize, however, that the most effective way of gaining our freedom is not through violence. We will therefore prepare ourselves by withdrawing, so far as we can, all voluntary association from the British Government.."

However when discussing British rule, the Indian document is not entirely honest.

"Politically, India’s status has never been so reduced as under the British regime. No reforms have given real political power to the people."

This was ofcourse far from true, as constitutional democracy did not exist in any part of India prior to British rule.

While the document definitely lacks the grandeur of the American Declaration, it probably deserved to be better remembered.

The relegation of 26th Jan and our choice to celebrate 15 Aug as the Independence day - a day arbitrarily chosen at the whim of Lord Mountbatten, was definitely unfortunate and ill deserved in my view.

Had we followed the American example, and chosen to celebrate 26 Jan 1930 as our day of Independence, we would be celebrating our 90th Independence day in 2019! As opposed to the 73rd :)

But it also tells us something about the Indian psyche as opposed to the American psyche.

While the Americans like to celebrate the Independence day on a day of their own choosing, Indians celebrate it on a day chosen for them by Mr Mountbatten :)