The National Symbols of India
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INDIA 2012
A REFERENCE ANNUAL
Compiled by
RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION
PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
National Symbols
NATIONAL FLAG
THE National flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.
Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the Government from time to time, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950) and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (No. 69 of 1971). The Flag Code of India, 2002 is an attempt to bring together all such laws, conventions, practices and instructions for the guidance and benefit of all concerned.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, took effect from 26 January 2002 and supercedes the ‘Flag Code-India' as it existed then. As per the provisions of the Flag Code of India, 2002, there is no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of general public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc., except as provided for in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and any other law enacted on the subject.
The significance of the tricolour
The Times of India, Sep 28 2015
Dhananjay Mahapatra
Are citizens aware of the Tricolour's true significance?
Citizens have always had an emotional, patriotic connect with the national flag. This connect was heightened by tales of glory weaved around the daredevilry of Indian soldiers in hoisting the flag atop re-captured heights of Kargil after evicting Pakistani invaders. The controversy over PM Narendra Modi signing a “tricolour“ was not without fire. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 [amended by the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2003] provides that “putting any kind of inscription upon the Indian national flag“ would constitute disrespect to it. But did Modi mean disrespect to the national flag? The flag code says the national flag should be made of hand-spun and hand-woven woolcottonsilk khadi bunting. It is rectangular in shape should have a length to breadth ratio of 3:2. We all feel patriotic when we buy those small plastic national flags from roadside vendors on the eve of Independence Day and Republic Day . Are we too guilty of disrespecting the national flag? The Supreme Court had dealt with an interesting case relating to alleged disrespect to the national by a police officer in 1959. The incident happened in Mughalsarai police station on Independence Day of 1955.
A mob of 3,000 persons, mostly students, gheraoed the police station demanding the national flag atop the building be flown at half-mast in respect of students killed in police firing in Patna. Station house officer Avadh Narain Singh was short of manpower to tackle a surging crowd. He sought reinforcements. But seniors told him to handle the situation `tactfully'.
As the crowd grew impatient, the SHO was caught in a dilemma. Lowering the national flag on Independence Day would surely invite disciplinary action. On the other hand, violent elements were egging on the crowd to attack the police station. The SHO made a quick decision and flew the flag halfmast from 8 am to 11 am. The crowd dispersed and the situation was defused. The seniors appreciated Singh's `tactful' handling of the situation.
Soon, the situation changed dramatically as the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru in a speech said “no insult to the national flag will be tolerated“. Immediately , Singh's superiors took adverse note of the national flag being flown half-mast on Independence Day . The `tactful' handling was brushed aside. Singh was found guilty and demoted two ranks. He challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. The SC in Avadh Narain Singh vs Additional Superintendent of Police [AIR 1960 SC 304] said, “To decide whether it amounts to insult or not, one must look to the circumstances in which and the motive with which the flag was lowered.“ The SC concluded that Singh had meant no disrespect to the national flag and asked the police department to pay a cost of Rs 300 to him.
The moot question is: Did the PM mean disrespect to the flag by putting his signature on it? Literal application of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act would make him guilty of inscrib ing the national flag. But as the SC judgment in Avadh Narain Singh case tells us, we must look whether the circumstances and intention pointed to a deliberate disrespect to the flag.
Inclusion of saffron colour in the flag too was objected to by some members of the flag committee, which was constituted on June 23, 1947.It decided the size, shape and colours of the national flag on July 14, 1947.
Dr S Radhakrishnan had clarified that colours adopted in the flag had no communal significance. He had said, “Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to ma terial 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 the soil, our relation to the plant life here on which all other life depends. The Ashoka wheel in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma.Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principles of all 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 and hence, this deviation does not revolt against the original idea of having a spinning-wheel in the national flag.“
Are we aware of the true significance of the Tricolour as explained by Dr Radhakrishnan? Have the politicians understood and imbibed it?
The Supreme Court had held in the Naveen Jindal case [2004 (2) SCC 510] that citizens have a fundamental right to fly the national flag round the year, a privilege earlier restricted only to certain days. But flying the national flag with honour would not mean much unless we understand the duties cast on us by the vibrant colours of the national flag.
STATE EMBLEM
The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26th January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script. The use of the state emblem of India, as the official seal of the Government of India, is regulated by the state of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem
David Courtney adds: The Indian national anthem has been composed in Raag - Alhiya Bilawal and set to the Keharava Taal.
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage,
Tava shubha asisa mange,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.
The following is Tagore’s English rendering of the anthem :
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
Is not standing up an offence?
The Times of India, Dec 01 2015
Ayesha Venkataraman Does one violate any law if they do not stand up for the national anthem? “I don't think it's so much a matter of legality as propriety. It's not an offence, there is no Act which says you must stand,“ said senior advocate Iqbal Chagla.The only law that weighs in on the appropriate behaviour during the national anthem is Section 3 of The Prevention of In sults to National Honour Act, 1971, which states, “Whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian National Anthem or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.“ It makes no mention of a mandate to stand while it's played. However, guidelines issued by the ministry of home affairs categorically state, “Whenever the anthem is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention.“ But this is not legally enforceable. “Guidelines from the home ministry are not legislation.They serve an advisory role,“ said Chagla.
“It's a difficult issue, really. The broad view is that you respect the anthem. And re spect is shown by standing up... You do it, unless you're incapable of doing that,“ said Darius Khambata, senior counsel and former ad vocate general of Maharashtra. But he didn't condone the “thug nationalism that's going on“. “Beating someone up shows more disrespect. People will do anything, they will run their lives any way they want, and then, suddenly , on this issue, they will get hyper-nationalistic,“ he added.
A PVR spokesperson added, “According to a Maharashtra government order, it is mandatory for all cinemas to play the national anthem before every film. Our staff intervened keeping in mind the safety of guests. A full investigation is under way.“
NATIONAL SONG
The song Vande Mataram, composed in sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. The following is the text of its first stanza :
Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!
The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose1 is :
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.
NATIONAL CALENDAR
The national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22nd March 1957 along with the Gregorian calendar for the following official purposes: (i) Gazette of India, (ii) news broadcast by All India Radio, (iii) calendars issued by the Government of India and (iv) Government communications addressed to the members of the public.
Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of the Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March in leap year.
NATIONALANIMAL
The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris, a striped animal is the national animal2 of India, it has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength, ability and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the Royal Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western region and also in the neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
NATIONAL BIRD
The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the national bird of India, is a colourful, swansized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green trail of around 200 elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacks the trail. The elaborate courtship dance of the male, fanning out the tail and preening its feathers is a gorgeous sight.
NATIONAL FLOWER
Lotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.
NATIONAL TREE
The Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) is the National Tree of India. This huge tree towers over its neighbours and has the widest reaching roots of all known trees, easily covering several acres. It sends off new shoots from its roots, so that one tree is really a tangle of branches, roots, and trunks.
NATIONAL FRUIT
Mango (Manigifera indica) is the National fruit of India. Mango is one of the most widely grown fruits of the tropical countries. In India, mango is cultivated almost in all parts, with the exception of hilly areas. Mango is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D. In India, we have hundreds of varieties of mangoes. They are of different sizes, shapes and colours. Mangoes have been cultivated in India since time immemorial.
