History of the National Flag of India

My Dear Young and Little Indians, 

On 22 July 1947 The National Flag of India was adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly, a few days before India's independence from the British on 15 August, 1947.

It served as the national flag of the Dominion of India between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950 and that of the Republic of India thereafter.

In India, the term "tricolour" refers to the Indian national flag.


History of The Indian National Flag.


The first Flag in India is said to have been hoisted on August 7, 1906, in the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park) in Calcutta now Kolkata.

 


The second flag was hoisted in Paris by Madame Bhikaji Cama and her band of exiled revolutionaries in 1907. This was very similar to the first flag except that the top strip had only one lotus but seven stars denoting the Saptarishi.  



The third flag went up in 1917 when our political struggle had taken a definite turn. Dr. Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak hoisted it during the Home rule movement.

 


 

The fourth flag- During the session of the All India Congress Committee which met at Bezwada in 1921 (now Vijayawada) in Andhra Pradesh - Pingali Venkayya- a youth prepared a flag and took it to Gandhiji. It was made up of two colours-red and green-representing the two major communities i.e. Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji suggested the addition of a white strip to represent the remaining communities of India

 


The fifth flag- The year 1931 was a landmark in the history of the flag. A resolution was passed adopting a tricolor flag as our national flag. This flag, the forbear of the present one, was saffron, white and green

 


The present flag- On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted this flag as the flag of Independent India.

 (Source of above information is Govt of India records)

 

Respect the National Flag

The Indian National Flag is a symbol of our national pride.

Indians, in uniform and otherwise, have willingly laid down their lives to keep the National Flag flying in full glory. It is our moral as well as legal duty to respect the Indian National Flag.

The display of National Flag is governed by -

1. Emblems and Names (Prevention of improper use) Act, 1950

2. Prevention of insults to National Honour Act, 1971

Flag Code of India was laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India on 26 January 2002 which brings together all laws, practices, conventions and instructions regarding the Indian National Flag.

This code lays down the Dos and Don'ts with regard to the National Flag.

You may read the complete Flag Code of India on the website of Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India.

Flag Code of India 2002 

Who can fly and display the National Flag ?

Until 2002, private citizens (meaning persons other than Govt servants) were NOT allowed to hoist the National Flag except on special days like the Independence Day and Republic Day.

In the 1990s, Mr Naveen Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd filed a petition in the Supreme Court questioning this restriction on private citizens.

After a legal battle between Mr Jindal and the Govt of India, the rules were modified and a new Flag Code of India 2002 was released that allowed all Indians to fly and display the National Flag.

Can the National Flag be flown at night ?

As per the Flag code of India, the National Flag is to be flown “as far as possible between sunrise and sunset”. In 2009 Mr Naveen Jindal petitioned the Ministry of Home Affairs to grant permission to fly mammoth-sized national flags on monumental flagpoles of 100 feet and above in height during night.

The Ministry has since allowed flying of the National Flag on such flagpoles, provided there is adequate arrangement for proper illumination of flags at night with backup in case of power failure and the flags are replaced immediately as soon as they get damaged.

विजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा, झंडा ऊँचा रहे हमारा

We are proud We are Indian.

 

Jai Hind!

Gaurav Negi


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