Pakistan is today celebrating it’s 77th Independay Day while India will celebrate it tomorrow, August 15, which will mark 76 years since breaking free from British colonial rule. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 established two new independent dominions, India and Pakistan, through the division of Bengal and Punjab provinces.
By partitioning the provinces of Bengal and Punjab, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 established two distinct independent nations: India and Pakistan. According to the Act, "two independent Dominions shall be established in India as of the 15 August 1947, to be known respectively as India and Pakistan."
The discrepancy in the observance of Pakistan's Independence Day on August 14, a day earlier than India's, despite both countries gaining independence simultaneously, has sparked various theories over the years.
The time difference between Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and Indian Standard Time (IST), which is 30 minutes, played a role in the differing Independence Day celebrations. Pakistan marked its independence a day earlier since India officially gained freedom at midnight on August 15, making it 11:30 pm on August 14 in Pakistan.
Another explanation links this timing to Lord Mountbatten's busy schedule as the final Viceroy of British India. Originally, the power transfer was planned for before June 1948, but Mountbatten's decision to designate August 15 as the Independence Day for both nations hastened the process. On August 14, 1947, he journeyed to Karachi to hand over governance of Pakistan to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
A separate story says that the choice to celebrate Independence Day ahead of India was proposed during a cabinet session in June 1948, chaired by Pakistan's inaugural prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan. The suggestion to advance the date to August 14 received Jinnah's endorsement, leading to the decision to observe Pakistan's Independence Day on that day.
