The History of the Indian flag

The Indian flag also known as the Indian Tiranga or Tricolor plays a symbolic role in India by representing the stoic pride of over 1.3 billion Indians today, it is also a reminder of the several Indians who laid down their lives for a unified and democratic India, free from over 200 years of British colonial rule. Today, Indians are allowed to hoist the flag every day, regardless of what the occasion is as long as the dignity of the flag is maintained. However, this was not always case, the Indian Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947, however, the Indian public was only allowed to hoist the flag on days of National importance and everyday usage of the flag was not permissible.

Naveen Jindal vs Union Of India Case

In the 1990’s Naveen Jindal, an Indian industrialist hoisted the Indian Flag in his office premises at Raigarh, however, this move was not well received and Naveen Jindal was asked to remove the flag by government officials as, according to the then Flag Code of India, the Indian flag could not be hoisted on a daily basis by normal citizens of the country and could only be hoisted on days of National importance. As a response, Naveen Jindal filed a writ petition in which he argued that the Indian Flag was a symbol of National pride for every Indian and hoisting the tricolor was every Indian’s Fundamental Right as long as the flag was hoisted with respect.

The High Court ruled in favor of Naveen Jindal and decided that every Indian has the right to hoist the National flag in a dignified manner on any day, the court ruled that hoisting the flag was a Constitutional Right under Article 19(1)(a) which governs the Right to freedom of opinion and expression in the Indian Constitution. The Government of India filed a petition against the decision in the Supreme Court, however, on 23 January 2004 the petition was dismissed by the court, and to this day 23 January remains a date contested for the National Flag Day of India.

Flag of India Code 2002

The Flag of India Code 2002 governs the usage of the Indian flag by applying the provisions of the Emblems and Names Act 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971 and combining laws and conventions related to the usage of the Indian flag.

The Flag Code of India,2002, came to effect on India’s 53rd Republic Day, 26 January 2002 and is divided into three parts. The first part of the code gives a description of the Indian flag, the second part of the code governs the regulations that need to be followed by public, private, and educational institutions while hoisting/using the flag, and the third part governs the usage of the flag by government authorities and agencies.

Usage of the Indian Flag

The Indian Flag cannot be used for commercial purposes and must never be dipped in salute to any person or thing.

Nobody is allowed to cause harm of any kind including verbal and non-verbal to the Indian Flag, and if any harm is intentionally caused to the flag then the convicted may face a punishment of up to 3 years in prison or pay a fine or may face both penalties.

The flag must not be flown at half-mast unless permitted by the government on certain occasions, and cannot be used as a drapery in any form. The flag must also be used in its original form and cannot be edited in any manner by using alphabets/designs on the flag and nor must the flag be used on clothes and any kind of decor items.

When in use outdoors the flag must at least be hoisted from sunrise tills sunset and the flag must not be damaged, if the flag is displayed on a speaker’s podium, it must always lie to the speaker’s right.

No flag must be placed higher, above, or side by side of the Indian flag, and in case of events where paper flags are used, nobody is allowed to disrespectfully discard the flag in public or thrown on the ground.

These are five essential rules to remember while displaying the Indian flag, however, there aren’t the only rules and there are more guidelines of usage mention in the Flag Of India Code,2002.

The symbolism of the Indian Flag

Making of the Indian National Flag

Karnataka Khadi Gramodaya Samyukta Sangha located in Hubli, Karnataka is the only authorized centre in India which produces and makes Indian flags of all proportions and sizes as per the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Flag making is taken seriously as any defect in the color, thread count, fabric, appearance of the flag could lead to serious fines under the Flag of India Code,2002.

The National flag is made of Khadi, which is a handwoven fabric in cotton or silk made by artisans. The process of making the flag starts of by dyeing the panels of the flag in Saffron, White, and Green, the Dharma Chakra is then screen printed to make it appear on both sides of the flag and its 24 spokes are distributed at equal distance. Finally all the three panels are stitched in unison with threads that match the colors in the panels and a small wooden rod is toggled in all the flags.