Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remembered the freedom fighters who selflessly sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence and their valour on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day on Sunday.

On this occasion, the chief minister appealed to the people take an oath of dedication towards the nation. He said that Independence Day was a festival to cherish the memories of all freedom fighters who gave their lives for the freedom of the country.

Dressed in a saffron robe, Yogi Adityanath hoisted the national flag at the Vidhan Bhawan in the state capital ahead of his address to the people of the state.

Yogi said ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' was a great festival to cherish the memory of countless anonymous Indians who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence. “On the 75th anniversary of Independence Day, let us all pledge to observe the dedication of the anonymous sacrifices to the nation,” he said.

“Today, we are able to live in an independent India because of the sacrifices of millions of sons and daughters of Mother India. This is an occasion to pay tribute to these brave souls and their spirit and dedication to free Mother India and live for the country for which they sacrificed themselves,” he said.

He went on to say that as the entire country marked ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ with a sense of gratitude to those who toiled for freedom and with a commitment to build a strong and prosperous India. He said the martyrs' memorials associated with the freedom movement built at different places within the country were a living testimony of the cost of Independence and it would invoke a sense of patriotism and dedication in countrymen for the nation.

“Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav will help us realise the vision of ‘Naya Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ and help us gain new energy (amrit) for the development of our future under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.

From the leadership of Rani Laxmibai in Jhansi to the leadership of Mangal Pandey in Ballia, the result of the collective struggle for independence in different parts of the country was that the Britishers had to leave India, he said.

The chief minister said that in the year 1916 in Lucknow itself, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak had announced that “Swaraj is my birthright, I shall have it' and this proclamation had become the mantra of the country's independence movement. He said the heroes of the freedom struggle like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Veer Savarkar, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee gave a new height to this fight of the country and Uttar Pradesh became a focal point of this decisive battle.

The chief minister also congratulated the nine police officers and personnel of the state for receiving the President's Police Medal for Gallantry on the occasion of Independence Day. Four heroes from the state were honored with the President Police Medal and 73 police personnel for their unflinching courage were selected for the Police Medal.

The chief minister said that along with entering the Amrit Mahotsav year of Independence, this year was also the centenary year of the historic Chauri-Chaura incident.

Concluding his address, Yogi said that we could all work with full sincerity to realise the dreams of the great revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. He said it is a solemn duty of people to remember and celebrate the extraordinary spirit of the freedom fighters, their supreme sacrifices and their lofty ideals.