| National
Flag |
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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. |
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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effect from 26 January 2002 and superseded
the ‘Flag Code—Indias'
as it existed. As per the provisions
of the Flag Code of India, 2002, there
are no restriction on the display
of the National Flag by members of
general public, private organisations,
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. |
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| State
Emblem |
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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) .
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| In the state emblem,
adopted by the Government of India on 26 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. |
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| 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 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.
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.
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| 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-man a. 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 prose
1 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. |
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| 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 22 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. |
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| National
Animal |
The magnificent tiger, Panthera
tigris is a striped animal. It
has a thick yellow coat of fur
with dark stripes. The combination
of grace, strength, agility 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.
To check the dwindling population
of tigers in India, ‘Project
Tiger' was launched in April 1973.
So far, 27 tiger reserves have
been established in the country
under this project, covering an
area of 37,761 sq km.
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| National
Bird |
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The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus,
the national bird of India, is
a colourful, swan-sized 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 train of around 200
elongated feathers. The female
is brownish, slightly smaller
than the male and lacks the train.
The elaborate courtship dance
of the male, fanning out the tail
and preening its feathers is a
gorgeous sight. |
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| National
Flower |
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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.
India is rich in flora. Currently
available data place India in
the tenth position in the world
and fourth in Asia in plant
diversity. From about 70 per
cent geographical area surveyed
so far, 47,000 species of plants
have been described by the Botanical
Survey of India (BSI). |
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