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| 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.
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. |
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| 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26 January 2002 and superseded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) .
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 |
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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 |
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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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