On the night of August 14, millions of Indians decorated their homes and neighbourhoods. Diyas were lit and special meals were cooked in preparation for a grand celebration like never before.
Over 300 years after the British first landed in Surat, India was finally going to break the shackles of the British Raj. As the minute hand on the clock ticked closer to midnight, a hush fell over the country as families huddled around their radios. Those who couldn't afford them clustered around their neighbours' radios.
The small broadcasting machines crackled on and a voice rang across the static: "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom."
