Apart from India, here are five nations that celebrate August 15 as their Independence Day
South and North Korea celebrate their freedom as National Liberation Day, and also ‘Victory over Japan Day’ on August 15 every year as they won freedom from Japan’s colonial rules in 1945.
NEW DELHI. Apart from India, five more nations across the globe celebrate August 15 as their Independence Day as they achieved freedom on this day. As India celebrates its 77th Independence Day today, it is South Korea’s 78th National Liberation Day on August 15, 2023.
Besides India, South Korea, North Korea, Bahrain, Kongo, and Liechtenstein, fetched freedom from the clutches of their respective colonial rulers on this day, common to them all. If India and Bahrain won freedom from the colonial rule of Britishers on August 15, 1947, and 1971 respectively, South and North Korea (the then united nations) won independence from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, on this day.
Korea was further divided into South and North Korea in 1948 and the duo waged war against each other in 1950 that ended in 1953. Japan ruled Korea for 35 years from 1910 to 1945. Its occupation of Korea ended after Japan witnessed world’s most ferocious devastation when America dropped atom bombs on two of its cities – Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II. The day is also known as ‘Victory over Japan Day’.
World’s sixth smallest nation Liechtenstein commemorates its liberation from German rule in 1866 while Congo got freedom in 1960 from the French rule after 80 years of possession. However, every nation celebrates August 15 in different names. The Democratic Republic of the Congo terms August 15 as ‘Congolese National Day’.
India won independence in 1947 when Britain divided the country into two nations and carved out east and west Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as a separate nation. Pakistan celebrates Independence Day on August 14, a day before India.
