Flag Code of India

In News  

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an advisory to all the States and Union Territories to ensure strict adherence to the Flag Code on important national events.

Historical Background

• 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 (now Kolkata).
• 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 a national flag at a Congress Committee meeting in Karachi in 1931.
• The Indian flag was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on July 22, 1947.

Rules governing the display of the Tricolour

• 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: It restricts the use of the national flag, the coat-of-arms used by a government department, the official seal of the President or Governor, the pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi and the Prime Minister, and the Ashoka Chakra.
  • The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971: It prohibits the desecration of or insults to the country’s national symbols, including the national flag, the Constitution, the national anthem and the Indian map.
    • Section 2 of the Act says, “Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or [otherwise shows disrespect to or brings] into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

Flag Code of India 

• In 2002, the Flag Code of India came into effect which allowed the unrestricted display of the Tricolour as long as the honour and dignity of the flag were being respected.
• The flag code did not replace the pre-existing rules governing the correct display of the flag
  •  It was, however, an effort to bring together all the previous laws, conventions and practices.
• Parts:  The Flag Code of 2002 is divided into three parts 
  • A general description of the tricolour
  • Rules on the display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions
  • Rules for the display of the flag by governments and government bodies.

• Features :
  • 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.
  • The tricolour cannot be used for commercial purposes, and cannot be dipped in salute to any person or thing.
  • The flag code mandates that the tricolour should always be distinctly placed and should “occupy the position of honour”. 
  • The flag should always be hoisted briskly and lowered slowly and ceremoniously.
  • 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.

• In the event of the death of heads of state, dignitaries or during state funerals, the tricolour can be flown at half-mast during the period of mourning. 
  • However, if the period of mourning coincides with events of national importance, such as Independence Day, Republic Day, etc., the tricolour should not be flown at half-mast anywhere except over the building in which the body of the deceased is lying.

Source: IE