At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedomâ¦â This historic speech marked Indiaâs independence from British rule and simultaneously made the Red Fort in Delhi a politically significant monument, which now acts as the setting for the independence day celebrations each year. However, the Red Fort has been a strategically important monument through the ages, due to Delhi being the capital city for a good part of the Mughal rule in India.