Of them, only one - Chandra Shekhar (1990-91) - never got to address the nation from the Red Fort.

Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru, served in 1964-66 and addressed the nation on Independence Day twice.

Morarji Desai assumed office in 1977 after Indira Gandhi's long innings ended in an electoral defeat. He was in office for two years and addressed the nation on as many occasions.

Charan Singh, who succeeded Desai, ruled India for a mere six months but managed one Independence Day address.

V.P. Singh, who became prime minister in 1989, served for a little under a year and delivered one Independence Day address.

After Chandra Shekhar, P.V. Narasimha Rao became the first prime minister after Rajiv Gandhi to serve a full term (1991-96) and addressed the nation on five occasions.

Thereafter, H.D. Deve Gowda (1996-97) addressed the nation once as did his successor Inder Kumar Gujral (1997-98).

The tradition of prime ministers speaking to the people from the Mughal-built Red Fort began on Aug 15, 1947 when Nehru spoke amid wild nationwide celebrations to mark the end of the British Raj.

Since then, Aug 15 addresses became an occasion for prime ministers to spell out their vision for the nation and the agenda for the coming times.

In earlier years, the lawns facing the Red Fort saw happy, carefree crowds converging to hear their prime ministers. After years of terrorism, the Red Fort now turns into a virtual fortress every Aug 15.