India’s Flag Code
In News
- The Indian flag was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on July 22, 1947.
- The first national flag, which consisted of three horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green, is said to have been hoisted on August 7, 1906, at the Parsee Bagan Square, near Lower Circular Road, in Calcutta.
- Later, in 1921, freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya met Mahatma Gandhi and proposed a basic design of the flag, consisting of two red and green bands.
- After undergoing several changes, the Tricolour was adopted as our national flag at a Congress Committee meeting in Karachi in 1931.
- The earliest rules for the display of the national flag were originally governed by the provisions of The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
- In 2002, the Flag Code of India came into effect.
Flag Code of India
- The Flag Code of 2002 is divided into three parts — a general description of the tricolour, rules on display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions, and rules for display of the flag by governments and government bodies.
- It states that there will be no restriction on the display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions except to the extent as laid down in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
- It mentions that the tricolour cannot be used for commercial purposes, and cannot be dipped in salute to any person or thing.
- Whenever the flag is displayed, it should be distinctly placed and should “occupy the position of honour”.
- No other object, including flowers or garlands, or flag should be placed on the same height beside the tricolour or above it.
- The flag should not be used as a festoon, or for any kind of decoration purposes.
- Any tricolour which is damaged should be destroyed in private, “preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with the dignity of the Flag”.
- For official display, only flags that conform to the specifications as laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards and bearing their mark can be used.
- Dignitaries should remove their headgears before saluting the flag.
- The flag code states that the tricolour can be of nine standard dimensions.
- Also, the tricolour should be rectangular in shape and the length-to-width ratio should always be 3:2.
- The national flag should always be made of hand-spun and hand-woven wool or cotton or silk khadi bunting.
- The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 states that the flag cannot be used as a drapery in any form whatsoever except in State funerals or armed forces or other para-military forces funerals.
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