The Astrological Mystery Behind India’s Independence
By Uzma Binte Nazir
In August 1947 British India was partitioned into two independent nation-states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, ending three hundred years of colonial rule.
Many may be curious as to why India gained its independence on August 14 and 15, 1947, at midnight rather than at a more convenient time. There’s a rationale for that.
On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten the last viceroy of India declared that the partition of India and the transfer of power would occur on August 15, 1947. Lord Mountbatten himself had selected this date as the date for the transfer of power because he had considered that date to be very lucky for his career. During World War II, it was on August 15, 1945, that the Japanese Army surrendered to Allied forces and Lord Mountbatten was then the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in South East Asia at that time.
Lord Mountbatten had consented to become the first Governor General of free India on 15th August 1947 but the power handover from British to independent Pakistan was to happen in Karachi. He couldn’t attend the Independence Day celebrations in Pakistan (Karachi) and India (Delhi) at the same time. So a solution was found and charge handover and swearing in of Muhammad Ali Jinnah as the first Governor General of independent Pakistan was planned for 14 August 1947 (a day before the actual date for transfer of power) so Mountbatten could fly back to New Delhi to hand over charge to India on 15 August 1947 formally.
Now let’s discuss the role of Astrology in determining Indian Independence Mahurat.
When the date, August 15, was made public, it sparked outrage among astrologers nationwide. Renowned astrologers of that era Hardeo Sharma and Suryanarain Vyas advised Babu Rajendra Prasad, who later became India’s first President, that the chosen date was “unfortunate and inauspicious” from an astrological standpoint for a flourishing nation and could hinder the prosperity of the nation
They earnestly requested a change in the date to ensure a prosperous future for the country. Despite alternative dates being proposed, Lord Mountbatten firmly stood by his decision to mark August 15 as Indian Independence Day. He rejected any suggestion of altering this choice. Given this unwavering stance,
Jawaharlal Nehru beseeched the astrologers to search for a solution that would align with Lord Mountbatten’s preferred date
Thus a midway solution was derived by astrologers. They had suggested that the speech of acknowledgment of the transfer of power be done within 24 minutes before and after 12:15 am, i;e between 11:51 pm & 12:39 am (referred to as “Abhijeet Muhurta” in astrology). This was because according to the English calendar, the day starts after midnight and according to the Hindu calendar the day starts at sunrise (as the Islamic day starts at the moon’s rise)
Nehru was only allowed to deliver a speech within that time frame and an additional constraint was that the speech had to end by 12 am, so that the conch be blown to herald the birth of a new nation at the stroke of the midnight hour.
So, at midnight of 14th &15th August 1947, the power was transformed. India thus became that rare nation to declare independence at the stroke of the midnight hour.
P.S. The source of this information is taken from the book “Freedom at Midnight” by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre published in 1975.
