1. National Flag
THE National Flag shall be a tricolor panel made up of three rectangular panels or sub-panels of
equal width. The colour of the top panel shall be India saffron (kesari) and that of the bottom panel
India green. The middle panel shall be white, bearing at its centre the design of Ashoka Chakra in
navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes. The Ashoka Chakra shall preferably be screen
printed or otherwise printed or stenciled or suitably embroidered and shall be completely visible on
both sides of the Flag in the centre of the white panel. The National Flag shall be rectangular in
shape. The ratio of the length to the height (width) of the Flag shall be 3:2. The design of the National
Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 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 of all concerned.
The Flag Code of India, 2002 effective from January 26, 2002 superseded the ‘Flag Code-India’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 organizations, educational
institutions, etc., except to the extent provided 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.
2. State Emblem
The State Emblem of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath. In the original,
the Lion Capital has four lions mounted back to back, on a circular abacus.
The frieze of the abacus is
adorned with sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening Dharma Chakras.
The abacus rests on a bell shaped lotus.
The profile of the Lion Capital showing three lions mounted on the abacus with a Dharma Chakra
in the centre, a bull on the right and a galloping horse on the left, and outlines of Dharma Chakras on the extreme right and left
was adopted as the State Emblem of India on January 26, 1950.
The motto “Satyameva shaped lotus was lotus was alone triumphs—written in
Devanagari script below the profile of the Lion Capital is part of the State Emblem of India.
In the State Emblem lies the official seal of the Government of India. Its use is regulated by the
State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005 and The State Emblem of India
(Regulation of Use) Rules, 2007 [read with State Emblem of India (Regulation of Use) Amendment
Rules, 2010].
3.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!
Vande Mataram,
Vande 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.
4. National Anthem
The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bangla by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in
its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950. It
was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. The
complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza contains the full version of the National
Anthem:
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-jaladhi-taranga
Tava subha name jage,
Tava subha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya-gatha.
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
The 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 National Anthem (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.
5. 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 March 22, 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 public.