Flag of india

Flag of india
Vexillological symbol :	?
Aspect ratio:	2: 3
Officially accepted:	July 22, 1947

The flag of India is also known as Tiranga ( Hindi : तिरंगा; German: tricolor ).

description

It consists of three horizontal stripes of equal width, saffron-colored at the top , white in the middle and green at the bottom. In the center there is a navy blue chakra (चक्र, dt .: wheel ) with 24 spokes. The diameter of the wheel is 3/4 the height of the white stripe, but it is now common practice for the wheel to be up to 98% of the height of the white stripe. The flag was officially adopted at a session of the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 1947, just before India's independence on August 15, 1947. The use of the flag, which was designed by Pingali Venkayya , is subject to a carefully worked out code. For example, the official flag must be made from khadi , a hand-spun yarn.

The colors of the Indian flag correspond roughly in different color models ( HTML - RGB web colors ( hexadecimal notation), CMYK equivalent, dyes and the corresponding Pantone number):

colour	RGB code	CMYK	Textile paint	Pantone
Saffron yellow	# FF9933	0-50-90-0	saffron	021c
White	#FFFFFF	0-0-0-0	White	1c
green	# 138808	70-0-100-30	Indian green	341c
Navy blue	# 000080	100-98-26-48	Navy blue	662c

symbolism

The chakra (wheel) of the flag, introduced in 1947

The Indian National Congress (INC), India's largest pre-independence political party, adopted a white-green-red flag as its unofficial flag in 1921. The red originally stood for Hinduism , the green for Islam and the white for other minority religions. However, some also thought that white stands like a peace buffer between the two religions , e.g. B. in the flag of Ireland . This probably served as a model, as Ireland also fought for independence from the British Empire . In the center there was a Carkhā (चरखा, dt .: spinning wheel ) in blue, the symbol of the striving for economic and later also political independence. In 1931, Congress officially adopted another saffron yellow-white-green flag, also with Carkhā in the middle, but it had no religious meaning: it was declared that saffron yellow for courage, white for truth and peace, and green for faith and prosperity and loyalty stand.

In the flag of India adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947, shortly before Britain gained full independence, the spinning wheel was replaced by a wheel, the Dharmachakra ( Wheel of Law ). The Dharmachakra had already been spread throughout his empire by King Ashoka ( Maurya dynasty, ruled approx. 268 BC - 232 BC), the founder of the earliest Indian empire, as a symbol of the rule of law (see also Edicts of Ashoka ). For this reason it is also known as the "Ashoka Chakra". At that time it was in the original sense the symbol for the teachings of the Buddha (the Buddha- Dharma ), which for Ashoka formed the basis of his legislation . While the Buddhist Dharmachakra has eight spokes, the wheel of the flag has 24 spokes, which symbolize the hours of the day.

The following interpretation of the flag comes from S. Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), who later became the second President of India:

“Bhagwa or saffron stands for renunciation and detachment. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gain and surrender to their task. The white in the center is the light, the path of truth that should guide our behavior. The green shows our relationship to the earth, our relationship to the life of plants, on which all further life depends. The Ashoka wheel in the center of white is the wheel of the law of Dharma . Truth or Satya , Dharma or virtue are supposed to be the principles of those who work under this flag. The wheel also stands for movement. Death lies in stagnation. There is life in movement. India shouldn't resist change anymore, it has to move and move forward. The wheel represents the dynamic of peaceful change. "

Service flags

The Indian service flags are modeled on the British flag system ( Blue Ensign , Red Ensign and White Ensign ).

In contrast to the British original, the Union Jack has not been used since India's independence .

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  air force

history

When the British took control of India, they replaced the Mughal Empire , which comprised most of the Indian subcontinent from 1526 to 1858 . The most famous flag of the Mughal Empire was the Alam, according to tradition the flag of the warrior Hussain. With the establishment of British India in 1858, through which Great Britain established its rule over the present-day states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma, the Union Jack was declared the state flag. From 1880 onwards, numerous associations also used a semi-official national flag with the Union Jack at events, with the star of the Star of India, founded by Queen Victoria, opposite on the flight side on a red background. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the Indian independence movement sought freedom from British rule and found its first supporters, the question of a national flag was also raised. Sister Nivedita , an Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda , had the idea for the first flag of India, also known as Sister Nivedita's Flag . It was a red, rectangular flag with a yellow Vajra Chinha ( lightning bolt ) and a white lotus in the middle. The inscription read বন্দে মাতরম ( Bande Mataram , Bengali for: Heil der Mutter! [The motherland!]). Red expressed the desire for freedom, yellow expressed victory and the white lotus stood for purity .

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  The Calcutta flag

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  The flag designed by Madam Cama in 1907

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  Flag of the Home Rule Movement in 1917

The first tricolor was unrolled on August 7, 1906 during a protest march against the partition of Bengal by Sachindra Prasad Bose in Parsi Bagan Square in Calcutta . This flag became known as the Calcutta Flag , Flag of Independence, and featured three horizontal stripes of equal height: orange on top, yellow in the middle, and green on the bottom. Eight lotus blossoms symbolize the eight provinces of British India on the upper stripe, and a sun and a crescent moon with a star are shown on the lower stripe . Vande Mataram , I bow to you mother , in Hindi (वन्दे मातरम्) is the inscription on the middle stripe. It is a quote from a poetic hymn of praise to the goddess Durga, who is considered the personification of India in all strata of the population.

On August 22, 1907, Madam Bhikhaji Rustom Cama unrolled another tricolor in Stuttgart . This was green at the top, yellow in the middle and red at the bottom. On the top strip were eight lotus flowers representing the eight provinces of British India . The middle stripe said Vande Mataram . A crescent moon was depicted on the lower strip towards the mast and a sun on the other side. The colors stood for Islam , Hinduism and Buddhism as well as Sikhism . The flag was jointly designed by Madam Cama, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Shyamji Krishna Varma . After the beginning of the First World War , this flag became known as the Berlin Committee flag , as it was adopted by Indian revolutionaries in Berlin ( Berlin Committee ). The flag was actively used in Mesopotamia during the war .

The Ghadar Party's flag was also used in the United States of America as a symbol of India for a short time.

In 1916, Pingley Venkayya from Masulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh tried to design a common national flag. Umar Sobani and SB Bomanji noticed his efforts and together they founded the "Indian National Flag Mission". Venkayya tried to get Mahatma Gandhi to accept the flag, but he didn't like it. He suggested that Venkayya design a new flag with a spinning wheel (charkha) on it. The Charkha is "the embodiment of India" and symbolizes "the redemption from all its evil". However, Gandhi did not like the new design with a red and a green stripe and a Charkha either, as it did not reflect all Indian religions.

The so-called Home Rule Movement was founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant in 1917. Its flag consisted of five red and four green horizontal stripes and had the Union Jack in the upper left corner , symbolizing the Dominion status that the movement was seeking for India. A crescent moon and star were on the top right of the flag. The seven white stars were arranged as in the constellation Saptarishi ( Seven Wise Men , the Indian name for the constellation Great Bear ) , which is sacred to Hindus . However, this flag was not very popular because of the Union Jack.

In 1921 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi designed a national flag for an independent India. It showed the emblem of the spinning wheel, a symbol of hope for economic and political independence. The colors stood for the major religious communities in India: red for Hinduism, green for Islam and white for the minority religions. The new white-green-red flag (for the meaning of the colors see symbols ) was unfurled for the first time at a party meeting in Ahmedabad . Although this flag was not officially adopted by the Indian National Congress, it was widely used among the freedom movement. However, not everyone was satisfied with the different interpretations of the flag. The All India Sanskrit Congress in Calcutta in 1924 proposed that saffron yellow or ocher and the gada (labyrinth) of Vishnus be incorporated as symbols for the Hindus. In the same year, geru (an earthy red color) was proposed because it stood “for the spirit of renunciation” and “the ideal common symbol for both the Hindu yogis and sannyasins , as well as for the Muslim fakirs and dervishes ”. The Sikhs demanded the color yellow, which represented their religion, or the abandonment of a religious meaning.

Flag of india

As a result of these developments, the Congress Working Committee appointed a seven-member flag commission on April 2, 1931 to reconsider the proposals. In a resolution the three colors were rejected because they were devised on a religious basis. Therefore a single color flag was designed and used for a short time. Although the committee proposed this flag, the INC did not adopt it because it appeared that the flag represented a communalist or communist ideology. Later that year, the final resolution was passed at a committee meeting in Karachi , declaring that saffron yellow stood for courage, white for truth and peace, and green for faith, prosperity and loyalty. A blue spinning wheel (Charkha) was placed in the middle. The Swaraj was a further development of Gandhi's flag.

At the same time, the Indian National Army (an anti-British Indian auxiliary to the Imperial Japanese Army ) was using a different version of this flag with the words "Azad Hind" and a leaping tiger in place of the chakra for the violent struggle for independence of its leader (Netaji) Subhash Chandra Bose - in contrast to Mahatma Gandhi's no-violence policy - stood. The Indian tricolor of this variant was first hoisted on Indian soil in 1944 in Manipur by Subhash Chandra Bose.

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  The unofficial flag of the 1921 Indian National Congress

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  The flag, adopted in 1931 and during the Second World War by the Provisional Government of Free India was used

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  Flag of the Indian National Army in World War II

A few days before India gained independence in August 1947, the Constituent Assembly was convened to deliberate on the flag of India. It convened an ad hoc committee, chaired by Rajendra Prasad , consisting of the following persons: Abul Kalam Azad , K. M. Panikar , Sarojini Naidu , C. Rajagopalachari , K. M. Munshi and B. R. Ambedkar . After three weeks of deliberation (June 23 to July 14, 1947) they came to the conclusion that the INC flag, the Swaraj, should be adopted as the national flag. However, some details have been changed to make them acceptable to all parties and communities and to avoid religious overtones. The Dharmachakra that on the abacus of Sarnath appear, was adopted instead of the Charkha as an emblem of the national flag. The flag was first unfurled as that of an independent state on May 18, 1947. Its three colors stand for the foundations and values ​​of the nation: orange for Hinduism, courage and willingness to make sacrifices, white for hope for peace and green for generosity, faith and Islam. The chakra wheel represents the inevitability of existence. Its blue symbolizes the oceans and the sky, the 24 wheel spokes embody the 24 hours of the day.

Before 2002, the Indian population could only fly the flag freely on national holidays. Only government buildings and higher government institutions were allowed to be permanently flagged. A Madhya Pradesh industrialist , Navin Jindal , petitioned the New Delhi High Court to drop this restriction in the public interest. Jindal had previously hoisted a flag on his office, but it had been confiscated as it was in violation of national flag law. Jindal justified his request by saying that it was his fundamental right and that he wanted to express his love for India. The case was in the Supreme Court of India ( Supreme Court passed), which advised the Indian government to set up a Commission on the subject. The Indian Union Cabinet changed the national flag law with effect from January 26, 2002. It now allows the general public to fly the flag on any day when the dignity, honor and respect for the flag are ensured at all times.

Larger universities in India were ordered by the Indian government in February 2016 to display the Indian flag visibly and at a height of over 60 meters. 46 universities then followed suit. Critics claimed it was in response to student protests against the arrest of a student movement leader.

In January 2017, floor mats with the Indian flag printed on them went up for sale on the Canadian Amazon website . The use of the Indian flag in this way was viewed in India as a violation of the Indian flag code and taken as an insult, so the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj threatened a visa embargo for Amazon employees if Amazon did not withdraw all such products and apologized.

Manufacturing process

Flag sizes

Size in mm

6300 × 4200

3600 × 2400

2700 × 1800

1800 × 1200

1350 × 900

900 × 600

450 × 300

225 × 150

150 × 100

After India became a republic in 1950 , the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) first issued regulations for the manufacture of the flag in 1951. They were adapted to the Metric System in 1964, which was in effect in India from that point on. On August 17, 1968, the regulations were changed again. They cover all the important areas in the manufacture of the flag including size, dye, chromatic values, brightness , thread size and hemp cord. These guidelines are very strict as any mistake in the manufacture of the flags is considered a serious criminal offense and can result in a fine or imprisonment (or both).

The largest flag of India on the Mantralaya building

Khadi or "hand-spun cloth" is the only material that is allowed for its manufacture. The only raw materials for khadi are cotton , silk and wool. There are two types of khadi: one for the flag and the other for the beige fabric that holds the flag on the pole. The latter is an unusual fabric that interweaves three threads, as opposed to two threads normally. This weave is extremely rare and there are only fewer than a dozen weavers in India who have mastered it. The guidelines also stipulate that there should be exactly 150 threads per square centimeter and four threads per stitch.

The woven khadi comes from two handicraft workshops in the districts of Dharwad and Bagalkot in northern Karnataka . At the moment there is only one company licensed for flag production, which is located in Hubli . Permission to open a flag factory in India is granted by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). However, the BIS has the option of canceling licenses if companies violate the guidelines.

When the fabric is woven, it is sent to the BIS laboratories for testing. If the flag passes the strict quality controls, it will be sent back to the factory. It is then bleached and dyed the right colors. In the middle, the Ashoka Chakra is printed using the screen printing process, applied with a stencil or embroidered to match . Care must be taken that the chakra is clearly visible and congruent on both sides. The BIS checks the colors again before the flag can be sold.

40 million flags are sold in India every year. The largest flag of India (6.3 mx 4.2 m) is hoisted by the government of Maharashtra on the Mantralaya building, the government building of the state.

Proper use of the flag

Respect for the flag

Private individuals have only been allowed to use the Indian flag since 2002. Indian law states that the flag must be treated with dignity, loyalty and respect at all times. The "Flag Code of India - 2002", which replaced the "The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950", deals with the use of the flag. The official rules state that the flag must never touch the ground or water, be used as a tablecloth, be draped in front of a platform (speaker's platform) or cover a statue, foundation stone, etc. Until 2005, the flag was also not allowed to be used as an item of clothing, uniform or costume . On July 5, 2005, the Government of India changed the law to allow the flag to be used as a garment or uniform. However, it must not be used below the waist , on handkerchiefs, underwear or pillows.

The flag should not be intentionally hung upside down or immersed in anything. When rolled up, it must not contain anything other than petals before it is unfolded. No inscriptions are allowed on the flag.

Handling the flag

There are many traditional rules of respect that should be observed when dealing with the flag. Outside of buildings, the flag should always be hoisted at sunrise and raised at sunset , regardless of the weather conditions. If the flag is illuminated, it can also fly on public buildings at night.

The flag should never be hoisted, displayed or depicted upside down. Tradition also dictates that the flag should not be rotated more than 90 degrees when draped vertically . The flag should be "read" like a book from top to bottom and from left to right. It is also offensive to display the flag frayed or soiled. The flagpole and the lines used for hoisting and hauling should also be in good condition.

Correct representation

The rules, which deal with the correct methods of displaying flags, dictate that two flags placed horizontally behind a podium, with their brackets facing each other, with the saffron-colored stripes on top. If the flag is displayed on a short flagpole, it should be placed at an angle to the wall so that the flag can be tastefully draped. When placing two national flags with crossed poles, the brackets should face each other and the flags should be fully extended.

Together with other countries

When the national flag is hoisted together with the national flags of other states, there are some rules. Most importantly, it always flies in the honor position, that is, it must be the flag furthest to the right (left of the viewer). Next to it come the other flags , sorted alphabetically according to the English names of the states. All flags should be about the same size, but none larger than the Indian one, and hoisted on separate masts. No national flag should fly on the same mast over another.

It is permissible to start and end the series with an Indian flag as well as to arrange them in alphabetical order. If the flags are arranged in a closed circle, the Indian flag marks the beginning of the circle, the other flags follow in clockwise direction . The Indian flag must always be hoisted first and brought down last. The United Nations flag can be located either to the left or right of the Indian flag. Usually it is on the far right (far left from the viewer).

With non-national flags

If the Indian flag is displayed together with company flags or advertising banners and is on its own pole, it should be placed either in the center or furthest to the left of the viewer, or at least one flag width higher than the other flags. The flagpole of the Indian flag must be in front of the other masts; should all flags fly on a mast, the Indian one is the top one.

Indoor use

When the flag is displayed indoors at all types of gatherings, it must always be in the right position. So it stands on the right hand of a lectern (seen from the audience on the left). If it is shown elsewhere in the hall, it is on the right of the audience.

The flag should be shown fully extended with the saffron stripe on top. When mounted vertically on the wall behind the podium, the saffron colored stripe should be to the left of the audience facing the flag.

Parades and ceremonies

During processions or parades, the flag should be worn on the right (in the direction of movement) or individually in the middle and at the head of the procession. The flag may play an important role in the unveiling of statues, monuments or plaques, but it may never serve to cover them. Out of respect for the flag, it should never be lowered in front of a person or object. Flags of regiments, organizations or institutions can, however, be lowered as a tribute.

During the flag- raising or lowering ceremony, or when the flag is being carried in a parade, all persons should face the flag and be in an alert position while the flag is being carried by. Anyone wearing a uniform should salute. Dignitaries may salute without their hats. After the salute for the flag, the Indian national anthem should be played.

Representation on vehicles

The privilege to display the flag on a vehicle is reserved for a select group of people, namely the President of India, the Vice President and Prime Minister , Governors , Deputy Governors and Prime Ministers of Indian States, Cabinet Ministers and Junior Cabinet Ministers of the Indian Parliament or the parliaments of the Indian states, the speakers of the Lok Sabha ( lower house of the Indian parliament) and the state parliaments, chairmen of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian parliament) and the legislative councils (upper houses of parliament of some Indian states), judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as well high-ranking officers of the Indian Army , Navy or Air Force.

You can hang the flag on your vehicle if you deem it necessary or appropriate. The flag should be attached to a pole in the center of the front of the bonnet or on the far right. When a foreign dignitary is traveling in a car provided by the Government of India, the Indian flag is on the right side of the car and the foreign flag is on the left.

The flag should fly together with the flag of the visiting country on an airplane when the President, Vice-President or Prime Minister is traveling with it on a visit to a foreign country. In addition to the Indian flag, the flag of the country visited is also shown, but the flag of the respective country is shown instead as a sign of goodwill and courtesy in the case of stopovers in other countries.

When the President is traveling within India, the flag will be displayed on the side of the plane where he is getting on or off. Even if the President is traveling on a special train, the flag will be displayed on the side of the driver's cab facing the departure platform. However, the flag only flies when the special train stops or arrives at its destination station.

Half mast

The flag only flies at half-mast as a sign of mourning when the President gives the order. It also determines the duration of the mourning. First the flag is hoisted all the way and then slowly lowered to half mast. If it is to be caught up again in the evening, it is pulled all the way up, then lowered completely. Only the Indian flag flies at half mast, all other flags fly at normal height.

The flag flies at half-mast across India in the event of the death of the President, Vice-President or Prime Minister. For the spokesman of the Lok Sabha , a minister of state or the presiding judge of the Supreme Court, it is hoisted to half-mast in Delhi , for a minister of the Union cabinet in Delhi and the capitals of state. When a governor, deputy governor or head of government of a state or union territory dies, the flag in the affected state flies at half-mast.

If news of the death of one of the above mentioned dignitaries does not arrive until the afternoon, the flag should not be lowered to half mast until the next day, unless the funeral took place before sunrise on that day. On the day of the funeral, the flags fly at half-mast at the place of the funeral.

If a Halbmasttag with the Republic Day , the Independence , Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, National Week (April 6 to 13) or another day national jubilation, such as the anniversary of an Indian state together, it is forbidden to use the flag on half-mast except on the building where the corpse lies until it has been removed. The flag must then be pulled up again.

State mourning at the death of a foreign dignitary is announced by the Indian Ministry of the Interior in special cases. In the event of the death of the head of state or government of a foreign state, the Indian embassy in that country can lower the Indian national flag to half mast, even if the day of death falls on an Indian national holiday. In the event of the death of other dignitaries of that country, the Indian flag should not be lowered to half-mast, unless required by diplomatic protocol or the customs of the country concerned.

At a state funeral or a military funeral, the flag with the saffron-colored stripe facing the head of the deceased should be placed on the coffin or bier. However, the flag may not be lowered into the grave or burned with the dead .

destruction

If the flag is in an unusable condition, it should be destroyed in a respectable way, preferably by incineration .

literature

• Uma Prasad Thapliyal: The Dhvaja: Standards and Flags of India - A Study. Apt Books, BR Publishing Corporation, Delhi 1983.
• Our flag. Ministry of Information and Broad Casting, Publications Division, India 1963 (English).
• Naval Ensign, Distinguishing Flags and Pendants, Design and Proportions . (PDF) Indian Navy, 2004 (English)
• Nicki Grihault: India: A Quick Guide to Customs & Etiquette. Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, Portland OR 2003, ISBN 1-55868-705-X . (English)
• Dorling Kindersley: Complete Flags of the World. Dorling Kindersley , London 2005, ISBN 1-4053-1170-3 . (Information on symbolism and history, English)
• Eva Grieger: Flag ABC. 196 national flags. Delius Klasing Verlag, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-89225-441-9 .
• Dietmar Rothermund : History of India. From the Middle Ages to the present. CH Beck Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47994-4 .

Web links

Commons : Flag of India  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• The Flag Code of India . Ministry of Home Affairs India (The Indian Flag Law)
• The National Flag . Indian National Congress (The national flag, English)
• Flag Code of India , 2002. Press Information Bureau (The Indian Flag Law of 2002)
• Tiranga . Liveindia (English)
• India . Flags of the World (overview with images, English)
• Indian national flag (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Student uprisings in India: Government imposes mandatory flags on universities. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved February 18, 2016 . 
2. ↑ India Threats Amazon Over Flag Doormat . In: CNNMoney (London) , January 11, 2017. 
3. ^ Sushma Swaraj threatens visa embargo for Amazon officials after learning about products disrespecting Indian flag . In: Times of India , January 11, 2017. 
4. ↑ India threatens to blacklist Amazon officials for selling doormats showing its flag . In: The Washington Post , January 11, 2017. 

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on February 16, 2006 in this version .