A Flag Campaign To Instill Patriotism

Under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a campaign titled Har Ghar Tiranga seeks to encourage the people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s Independence. Our relationship with the flag has always been more formal and institutional than personal.

Bringing the flag home collectively as a nation in the 75th year of Independence thus becomes symbolic of not only an act of personal connection to the Tiranga but also an embodiment of our commitment to nation-building. The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and to promote awareness about the Indian National Flag.

Remembering Martyrs

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign to be run under the auspices of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said; “This year, when we are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, let us strengthen the Har Ghar Tiranga Movement. Hoist the Tricolour or display it in your homes between August 13 and 15. This movement will deepen our connect with the national flag.”

Meanwhile, the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER Shri GK Reddy said that as the country celebrates Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, let us hoist the tricolour in every house from August 13 to 17 in honour of those who laid down their lives for the country.

“This year, when we are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, let us strengthen the Har Ghar Tiranga Movement. Hoist the Tricolour or display it in your homes between August 13 and 15. This movement will deepen our connect with the national flag”
— Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

In order to make sure that in the nation’s 75th year of Independence, the “hoisting of the flag by targeted 20 crore households becomes symbolic of not only an act of personal connection to the Tiranga but also an embodiment of commitment to nation-building,” the Union Ministry of Culture is coordinating the campaign with State Governments and a number of different organisations. The Ministry of Home affairs has also amended the flag code of India 2022 vide an order dated December 30, 2021 and National Flags made of polyester or machine made have been allowed. Now, the National Flag will either be hand spun and hand woven or machine made, cotton/polyester/wool/silk khadi bunting. The Flag Code of India, 2002 was further amended vide another order dated July 19, 2022 and clause (xi) of paragraph 2.2 of Part-II of the Flag Code of India was replaced by the following clause (xi) “where the Flag is displayed in open or displayed on the house of a member of public, it may be flown day and night.” There is also relaxation in the size of the flag as well.

In a similar vein, the Ministry of Corporate affairs has also included the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign in their CSR activities. The order dated July 26, 2022, clarifies that the spending of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for the activities related to this campaign, such as mass scale production and supply of the National Flag, outreach and amplification efforts and other related activities, are eligible CSR activities under item no. (ii) of Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 pertaining to promotion of education relating to culture.

Creating Awareness Among Citizens

To meet the increasing demand of the flags various State Governments have approached local self-help groups, MSMEs and local tailoring units for the mass production of national flags. The Ministry of Textiles is also geared up for this occasion. Various awareness campaigns regarding this particular event are being organised by different corporate groups like marathons etc. Har Ghar Tiranga website has been created to create digital awareness about the programme. It is an initiative by the Ministry of Culture to mark Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Here at this website one can pin a virtual flag at their respective location to mark their contribution. This campaign will not only instill the feeling of patriotism in the youth but will also create opportunities of employment for small and medium scale enterprises.

To make this campaign successful, 25 crore flags will be required, whereas at present 4-5 crore flags are estimated to be available in the country. Therefore, the tricolour campaign is also being seen as a business opportunity for small and cottage entrepreneurs. The Government of India has taken various steps to ensure the supply of flags across India. All Post Offices in the country shall start selling flags from August 1, 2022. In addition, State Governments have also tied-up with various stakeholders for the supply and sale of flags. The Indian National Flag has also been registered on the GeM portal. There is enthusiasm among the citizens about this programme. Dr Vivek Singh, Assistant Professor at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, states that under the Central Government’s Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, the tricolour will be hoisted at more than 20 crore homes across the country for three days in the month of August to mark India’s 75th Independence Day. The purpose of Har Ghar Tiranga is to create an awareness among the citizens about the respect for the Tricolour as well as it is also an occasion to remember those who sacrificed their lives for Maa Bharti.

Shikha Khokhar, Research Assistant at National Museum Institute, believes that the Har Ghar Tiranga is a welcome step as in a country as diverse as India the National symbols represent the true identity of our country, bringing the diverse cultures together and binding them in a single string. Hence their celebration- individual as well as collective, should be promoted.

Priyanka Kaushik, a PhD scholar from Jamia Millia Islamia, opines that the Tiranga or Tricolour with the Ashoka Chakra reflects the values of the nation, new in 1947, and its vision of itself, in the past and the future, as a proud, strong, self-reliant State and not a slave to the dictates of global capitalism. The Tiranga represented something more than the flimsy clichés circulated via SMS texts to mobile phones across India—“One Nation, One Emotion, One Identity”—urging citizens “to bring home the National Flag” to celebrate the Amrit Mahotsav. The flag thus represents aspirations.