Book: A FLAG TO LIVE AND DIE FOR: A SHORT HISTORY OF INDIA’S TRICOLOUR

Author: Navtej Sarna

Published by: Aleph

Price: Rs 499

A Flag to Live and Die For is an elegantly crafted essay on India’s national flag. Navtej Sarna’s treatment uncovers the Tricolour’s history, from its conception to becoming a prominent feature of the national movement. It is the story of how the national flag gets transformed from a static object into a living symbol of the changing country, shaping and influencing the different narratives of patriotism and nationalism.

The national flag’s story ran parallel to the gathering freedom struggle and the recognition that it needed a distinctive emblem of its own. Sarna brings out with clarity how the milestones of the national movement, such as the swadeshi movement, the Home Rule movement, the Khilafat and the Non-Cooperation movements and others, also marked the distinct stages in the evolution of the design of the flag.

By the mid-1920s, the basic design of the flag had started to crystallise — a tricolour, with the charkha or the spinning wheel at the centre, and the stipulation that it should be made of khaddar. It was also the de facto flag of the Congress although it was not adopted as such. But it had Mahatma Gandhi’s endorsement and Sarna notes it “came to occupy centre stage in the collective imagination of ordinary Indians”.

Sarna’s treatment brings out with clarity that even as this consensus was strengthening, there were dissenting and contrarian voices. Some Sikh groups wanted a separate colour — yellow — to be added to the Tricolour design to reflect their separate minority status. The Muslim League had its own, even more fundamental, reservations, reflecting in part the gulf that was emerging with the Congress. New designs were pondered but it emerged that the consensus over the Tricolour was too strong and, finally, a slightly modified design was officially adopted by the Congress: saffron, white and green with the spinning wheel in deep blue in the centre.

As Independence approached, a fresh debate began over an appropriate flag for a soon-to-be sovereign country. The princely states felt that their separate identity — reflected in their separate flags — was being eroded. Other demands, from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other Hindu groups, for a saffron flag also surfaced. The final decision taken involved only one major change — the spinning wheel was replaced by the chakra as depicted in the Sarnath lion capital.

By 1950, an elaborate flag code was also in place, laying down strict regimens governing the use and the display of the national flag. For about half a century, the flag’s personality remained that of a national emblem, which was largely used for official purposes. As the republic turned 50, pressures were building for enabling a wider use of the national flag by the public. Early in this century, a new flag code was in place which both liberalised its display and permitted its use by members of the public. How much the country had changed was also reflected by the change in the earlier stipulation that the flag could only be made from khadi. The national symbol has become much more accessible but Sarna also perceptively notes its “commodification”.

The book is a sensitively told and easy to read history of the evolution of our national flag. Sarna effectively brings out how the story of the Tricolour contains in itself a living history of our nation and that its story will continue as our republic consolidates and evolves.