‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ : A Unique Message of Unity Among Countrymen

Under ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, campaign the tricolor will be hoisted in about 20 crore homes from August 13 to 15 and a unique atmosphere of patriotism will be created at the collective level.

BY RUCHITA SHAH 

On the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a inspiring and admirable effort is being made by the central and state level governments to provide the national flag at grassroot level with the intention that every citizen of the country should hoist the tricolor at their homes.

Under ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, campaign the tricolor will be hoisted in about 20 crore homes from August 13 to 15 and a unique atmosphere of patriotism will be created at the collective level.

Government of India has also allowed material other than Khadi to meet the demand of crores of tricolor. The tricolor is being made available for the first time in fabrics like silk, cotton, polyester, wool by amending the flag-code of 2002.  Due to which the production of tricolor has increased to an unimaginable level.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced to paint the roofs of all government buildings in Meerut with the tricolor. Not just UP; Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Delhi, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and other Union Territories have started hoisting the tricolor, and unfurled in every nook and corner of the country. Apart from many social organizations in the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party has also intensified its efforts to hoist the tricolor in almost all the states.

Tricolor rallies are being held everywhere and people are also being appealed to hoist the tricolor in their homes for these three days.

The Ministry of Culture by launching a website named ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ has created a system where people can virtually hoist the tricolor at their place.  So that ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign can be promoted at such a level which can ignite a unique public spirit and spark of patriotism in the heart of every citizen of the country.

Tricolor will be available in more than one and a half lakh post offices of the country, as well as online sale of tricolor for Rs 25 on the e-portal of post offices has been started from August 1st this year. The country is witnessed to the production of tricolor on such a large scale for the first time on the occasion of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Although there are many manufacturers across the country who are tirelessly working on making the tricolor on a war footing, one of them is Abdul Ghaffar Ansari Zandewala from Delhi. He is also known as ‘Flag Uncle’. With a team of 1600 people Abdul Ghaffar currently making 1.5 lakh flags per day. He has made 80 lakh national flags against the order of one crore so far.  “I have never seen such a demand for a national flag in my entire life,” he said.

“When we started manufacturing the tricolor 60 years ago, we used to make handmade Khadi national flags. Actually, my father’s job was sewing, he started the work of making the tricolor, he said.

“I feel fortunate and proud that God has given me this opportunity to serve the nation by making the national flag for so many years” he added.

Kuch Bhi Karega

Rakesh Bakshi, a renowned businessman and owner of a pharmaceutical company from Powai area of Mumbai, has great love and respect for the tricolor. He has also started the DK Flag Foundation, under which he has raised national flags at record-breaking heights at several iconic places in Mumbai. He inherited the tradition of nationalism from his father, who was a soldier in Indian Army.

Talking about his passion for the tricolor, let us tell you that he and his office staff come to the office wearing the tricolor badge on their clothes for 365 days.

In 2015, for the first time, Rakesh Bakshi had hoisted the 100 feet tricolor at Ambernath, followed by 150 feet at the Governor’s House and the tallest tricolor was also unfurled at the Haj House of Mumbai University.

Rakesh Bakshi has so far gifted tricolor badges to many celebrities like Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Mukesh Ambani. He also goes to give lectures in schools and colleges, such as what to do if the tricolor explodes, what to do if he lies down, what to do if the color of the tricolor fades, he often discusses such topics.

Regarding his fascination for the tricolour, Rakesh Bakshi says, ‘It is a very important symbol to inculcate respect for the country and remember the martyrs who laid down their lives for the country”, he added.

“I cannot say how happy I am with the campaign that our Prime Minister is running now. I can still feel the thrill of that moment. I myself have studied in Army School. Not a single day goes by that I don’t wear the tricolor badge on my clothes. After the Supreme Court allowed it and the tricolor came closer to the common man”, Rakesh Bakshi said.

Retired Major General G.D. Bakshi. What does Bakshi say?

Retired Army officer Major General G.D Bakshi, who is extremely patriotic, known for his unshakable opinion and had played an important role in the Kargil War. Bakshi says, ‘For a soldier, the tricolor means the glory of the country. The passion used to instill in the Army personnel that no one can soil the flag of our country as long as a single soldier breathes in his body. A soldier is ready to take the enemy’s bullet in his chest to protect the national flag. Even now, mass hoisting of the national flag is a very big step to awaken the consciousness of the country, to awaken the spirit of patriotism among the crores of people of the country. There is nothing better if everyone forgets caste differences and unites in this campaign for one goal.’

Impact in Jammu and Kashmir

The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign has a strong atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir as well. Ramneek Manhas a senior journalist and General Secretary of district Doda unit of J&K BJP, says, on August 5, 2019, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi abrogated Article 370 and 35A from Jammu and Kashmir, as a result of which the situation in Jammu and Kashmir changed rapidly. Around 1.5 crores  tourists have been visited Kashmir Valley this year so far.

Ramneek Manhas further says, “We have seen a pattern in the 90s where there were frequent terrorist attacks on 14th and 15th August and people from Hindu society were identified and killed in a queue.  It would have been difficult to identify their dead bodies too. Today the situation in J&K is totally different. The whole Jammu and Kashmir is logged in the color of patriotism, almost every district and tehsil of the UT is celebrating the 75th anniversary of independence with great joy and gaiety, different types of preparations are going on in all the schools. Well, if anything goes wrong, we are ready for that too”, he added.

“Apart from social organizations, the Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party is also preparing to hoist the tricolor up to booth level. “Under the ‘Har Ghar Tricolor’ campaign, BJP Jammu and Kashmir has set a target of installing more than 5 lakh tricolors at the booth level, in which the party has also been successful. The party has successfully taken out the tricolor rally in all the districts as well as in the tehsil headquarters.”he added.

“In the first such event, the Bharatiya Janata Party  flagged off a ‘Tiranga Rally’ from the historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar to Kargil in Ladakh. The event was of 300 bike riders and was organized on the occasion of ‘Vijay Diwas’. Apart from BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national president and Bangalore South MP Tejashwi Surya, BJP state president Ravindra Raina, party’s state general secretary and in-charge Kashmir Sunil Kumar Sharma and BJYM state president Arun Prabhat among those, who led the historic rally”, he said.

What is going on in Mumbai?

The Mumbai Municipal Corporation has also started working vigorously towards the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. Around five lakh flags will be distributed in various wards of BMC. Milind Sawant, Joint Commissioner of General Administration Department, says, ‘Health workers, conservation workers, employees of water supply department etc. have been employed so that flags of size twenty by thirty inches reach every house between August 13 and August 15. Efforts are being made to create awareness in this direction by holding rallies, banners, posters, meetings of society members and also by floating messages on about 600 hoardings at various locations in Mumbai in Hindi, Marathi and English. Along with this, we have spread the message in various malls, film-theaters, FM radio, local cable channels through the message of some video and audio clips. Each ward has appointed a nodal officer who is the local MLA of that ward,

In the same direction, Mumbai BJP Yuva Morcha President Tijendra Singh Tiwana says, ‘About twenty five lakh tricolors are going to be distributed by Mumbai BJP. Tricolors are to be supplied from three locations namely Maharashtra, Gujarat and Srinagar. BJP has about 9987 booths in Mumbai. Outside each booth and going to various societies, our workers will distribute free of cost tricolor to people on 10th, 11th and 12th and also tell people why to maintain tricolor and how to use it every year. There is a different enthusiasm among our workers now. I have never seen such enthusiasm on August 15 in my life. In 99% of the houses in Mumbai, this year you will see 100% of tricolors flying. On the 9th we are also going to take out a bike rally with 1000 workers from August Maidan to create awareness for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign on the occasion of August Revolution Day.’

What is the future of Khadi’s tricolor?

Ever since it was announced that polyester tricolors will be used instead of khadi tricolors for the first time this year, there has been a feeling of dissatisfaction among the makers of khadi tricolors. While polyester flags are machine-made in less time and are also very affordable, the fear that khadi flags will become a thing of the past in the near future is haunting the flag makers of the khadi village industry across the country. Although the government has given a guarantee that only khadi flags will be hoisted on government institutions and buildings, even after that the demand of khadi at the mass level will decrease in the coming time, the practitioners of khadi village industry feel. Shivanand Mathapatti, secretary of Karnataka Khadi Gramodyog Samyukta Sangh, says, ‘Like every year, this year too we have received an order. We have made about one and a half crore national flags so far. We make a total of nine sizes of flags. The national flag has a very ancient connection with khadi. Mahatma Gandhi insisted on the national flag of khadi with a vision which involved employment of many people across the country. At present, around twelve hundred sisters from the villages are associated with us in this work. Even though we have not seen any change in orders this year, it is bound to be difficult for us to survive in the coming years against cheap machine made garments. At present the price of VVIP flags which can be kept in our car is 210 rupees, while larger flags are available for 30 to 50 rupees of polyester, obviously the demand for khadi flags will also decrease and the depreciation of flags will also increase, because people usually do not take special care of the cheap items. would have been.’ But we are going to have a hard time surviving in the years to come against the cheap machine made products.

Maintain the dignity of tricolor specially

Under the ‘Prevention of Insult to National Honor Act-1971’, anyone who insults our national symbols can be fined or imprisoned for three years. The government has also issued guidelines on how to keep the tricolor after Independence Day. Keep the tricolor horizontally i.e. straight and the horizontal stripe of the saffron and green part

in such a way that both the colors appear naturally. Bend the flag slightly from both sides as well so that the Ashoka Chakra is visible in it. Now keep the folded tricolor in a safe place or cupboard.

Rules to be remembered

If the national flag is to be kept in a private place then the flag should be hoisted daily in that building. The time from sunrise to sunset was fixed for that. However, according to the change in the rules, now the national flag can be hoisted even at night. It is also a rule to fly the national flag at half-mast when national mourning is declared.

A national flag is not a simple piece of cloth that can be taken off in one fell swoop as it is left to dry. The national flag has to be brought down with a respectful level like bugle, dhol or conch shell. Its speed should also be respected.

In the national flag, saffron color will be at the top and green color will be at the bottom. There should be no mistake about this.

In terms of direction, if the national flag is to be hoisted, special care should be taken that the saffron color should be in the east direction.

Often the national flag is placed on the speaker’s table. If it is to be done then the national flag should be placed on the right side of the person giving the speech.

If the national flag is to be used somewhere in the vehicle, it can be used, but do not forget that the national flag should be right in the center of the car or bike. A national flag hanging bent or on the verge of breaking is an affront to the country and can lead to legal action.

Care should be taken that the national flag is not damaged in any way. National flag cannot be hoisted during rain and storm. The constitution says to take down the national flag at that time. The national flag should not be immersed in water. It cannot be dropped on the ground.

In any public ceremony, if the national flag is displayed, the national flag should be at the forefront. Placing the national flag behind a person, person or any other thing is an offence.

If the national flag is to be carried during the parade or in such situations, the national flag should be on the right side. If there are other flags in the parade, then the national flag should be in the centre.

No flag of any kind should be above the national flag. Remember that the same applies to a temple, derasar or mosque. If the national flag is to be kept at these places of religion, then the national flag should be kept above the flag of that place. No other flag can stand on the same level as the national flag.

National flag is not a decoration material. Such use of national flag is a crime.

The national flag cannot be used to cover any table, speaker or any other object. Do not forget that it is not a table-cloth, it is a national flag.