Flag of India
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Flag ratio: 2:3
The Indian national flag is also known as the Tiranga (तिरंगा), which in Hindi means tricolour. In India, the term "the tricolour" almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is a horizontal tricolour of saffron at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom. The center of the white band consists of a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes, known as the Chakra or the Ashoka Chakra. The chakra was taken from the Ashok pillar at Sarnath. The diameter of the chakra is slightly less than the width of the white band. The official flag specification requires cotton, silk or woollen cloth made of handspun yarn. The ratio of the height of the flag to its width is 2:3.
The Indian National Flag was designed by a freedom fighter, Pingali Venkayya. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly during an ad hoc meeting on July 22, 1947. Display and use of the flag are strictly enforced by the Indian Flag Code.
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History
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The Indian National Flag is markedly different from the flag adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1920. The Indian National Congress flag was similar in colour to the present day flag, but differed in that it contained a Charakha or spinning wheel instead of the Dharma Chakra of the present day flag. These two flags also differed in symbolism. The saffron of the Indian National Congress flag represented the Hindu religion, green Islam, and the white their peace and unity. There is no official adaptation of symbolism for the Indian National Flag.
However, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, soon to become the first Vice President of India (and subsequently its second President), described its significance in the Constituent Assembly, as follows:
- Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to soil, our relation to the plant life here on which all other life depends. The Ashoka Wheel in the center of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principles of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.
The Indian flag has been an influence in the Gipsy flag.
Colours
FOTW recommends the following colours for use with the Indian flag:
- Saffron - FFCCOO
- Green - 339933
- Navy blue - 000080
Proper display of the flag
- Wherever the Flag is flown, it should occupy the position of honour and be distinctly placed.
- Where the practice is to fly the Flag on any public building, it shall be flown on that building on all days, including Sundays & Holidays. It shall be flown from sunrise to sunset irrespective of weather conditions. The Flag may be flown on such a building at night also, but this should be only on very special occasions.
- The Flag shall always be hoisted briskly and lowered slowly and ceremoniously. When the hoisting and the lowering of the Flag is accompanied by appropriate bugle calls, the hoisting and lowering should be simultaneous with the bugle calls.
- When the Flag is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from windowsill, balcony, or front of a building, the saffron band shall be at the farther end of the staff.
- When the Flag is displayed flat and horizontal on a wall, the saffron band shall be uppermost and when displayed vertically, the saffron band shall be to the right with reference to the Flag, i.e to the left of a person facing it.
- When displayed over the middle of a street, running east-west or north-south, the Flag shall be suspended vertically with the saffron to the north, or to the east as the case may be.
- When the Flag is displayed on a speaker's platform, it shall be flown on a staff on the speaker's right as he faces the audience or flat against the wall above and behind the speaker.
- When used on occasions like the unveiling of a statue, the Flag shall be displayed distinctly and separately.
- When the Flag is displayed alone on a motorcar, it shall be flown from staff which should be affixed firmly to the car in the middle front of the bonnet.
- When the Flag is carried in a procession or a parade, it shall be either on the marching right, that is the Flag's own right, or if there is a line of other flags, in front of the centre of the line.
In general, Indian law requires the Flag to be treated with respect. Deliberate improper display of the flag or attacking it in any way are construed as insults to national symbols and are treated as criminal offences. In particular, it is illegal to burn the Indian Flag. This differs from some countries where flag-burning is allowed under free speech laws.
Pledge
In pledging allegiance to the National Flag, the following pledge is repeated while standing, with folded hands.
- "I,......, pledge allegiance to the National Flag and to the Sovereign Democratic Republic for which it stands."
Links
- The Flag Code
- FOTW India Historical flags - History of the Indian flag (with pictures of earlier flags)
- Tiranga.net
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