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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.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, took effect from 26 January 2002 and superseded the ‘Flag Code—Indias' as it existed.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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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!
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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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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!
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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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 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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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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 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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 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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 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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 A fleshy fruit, eaten ripe or used green for
pickles etc., of the tree Mangifera indica,
the mango is one of the most important and
widely cultivated fruits of the tropical world.
Its juicy fruit is a rich source of Vitamins A,
C and D. In India there are over100 varieties of
mangoes, in different sizes, shapes and colours.
Mangoes have been cultivated in India from time
immemorial. The poet Kalidasa sang its praises.
Alexander savoured its taste, as did the Chinese
pilgrim Hieun Tsang. Mughal emperor Akbar
planted 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga, Bihar
at a place now known as Lakhi
Bagh. |
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 Indian
fig tree, Ficus bengalensis, whose branches root themselves
like new trees over a large area. The roots then give rise
to more trunks and branches. Because of this characteristic
and its longevity, this tree is considered immortal and is
an integral part of the myths and legends of India. Even
today, the banyan tree is the focal point of village life
and the village council meets under the shade of this tree. |
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