India on Monday celebrated its 70th Independence Day, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering his longest-ever address to the nation from the ramparts of the majestic Red Fort in Delhi.

Yet it was a broadside against Pakistan that left the strongest impression in a speech that otherwise skirted foreign affairs and focused on his government's own achievements.

The tradition of delivering the annual address from the steps of the 17th-century Red Fort from where Mughal kings ruled Delhi for two centuries dates back to Jawaharlal Nehru's historic “tryst with destiny” speech of 1947.

Meanwhile in Srinagar, a police paramilitary commander was shot dead and at least two suspected militants were killed in gun battles as violence flared despite imposition of a curfew.