CM Shivakumar Hoists Flag at Bengaluru's Manekshaw Ground on 80th Independence Day
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
On the 80th Independence Day, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar unfurled the national flag at Bengaluru's Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground on 15 August 2026, extending Independence Day greetings to the people of Karnataka and the nation.
Flag Hoisting at Manekshaw Parade Ground
The Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground in Bengaluru, named after India's first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, served as the ceremonial venue for Karnataka's state-level Independence Day observance. The ground has long been the designated site for national day ceremonies in the state capital, drawing citizens, officials, and security personnel for the annual ritual of flag hoisting and public address.
Chief Minister Shivakumar conducted the flag hoisting and conveyed greetings to the people of the state and the country — ನಾಡಿನ ಹಾಗೂ ದೇಶದ ಜನತೆಗೆ ('to the people of the state and the nation') — in keeping with the established protocol observed by chief ministers across India every 15 August.
A Tradition Held Since 1947
Since India's independence from British rule on 15 August 1947, state governments have marked each anniversary with the chief minister or governor hoisting the tricolour at a designated parade ground in the state capital. The ceremony is typically followed by a formal public address, which state governments use to outline achievements and, often, announce new initiatives for citizens.
Karnataka's observance of the 80th Independence Day follows this unbroken national tradition, with the parade ground serving as the symbolic heart of the state's celebration.
Seventy-nine years after the tricolour first rose over a free India, the flag goes up again — and Karnataka's story, like the nation's, is still being written.