Har Ghar Tiranga: PM Modi urges Indians to hoist Tricolour as he recalls struggle for freedomįlag code tweak, tricolour for Rs 25, selfie points: How the Centre going all out to make Har Ghar Tiranga a hit Stamped into history: Who is Pingali Venkayya, the man who designed India’s national flag? The video demonstrates the ongoing challenge of all these diverse regions and people becoming one nation under the Tiranga. The most memorable images are not of what we are used to seeing in the streets of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, or Mumbai, but rather of far-flung places and remote places, quite tantalising in their beauty and rarity. What struck me is how marginalised tribal, ethnic communities were showcased. The video flaunts and vaunts the strength and diversity of India, our achievements in various fields, as well as the beauty of our country. The catchy tune has been composed by Devi Sri Prasad, popularly known as Rockstar DSP. Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli, Prabhas, Anupam Kher, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, PT Usha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu are among those who also appear in it. It is sung by Asha Bhosle and Sonu Nigam, with Amitabh Bachchan, also uttering a couple of lines. The anthem, funded and produced by the Ministry of Culture, features many celebrities raising or saluting the flag, with a montage of vignettes across the length and breadth of the land. On 2 August, the birthday of Pingali Venkayya, the freedom fighter who designed the flag, Home Minister Amit Shah launched the “Har Ghar Tiranga” anthem from the Indira Gandhi Arena in Delhi.
Rarify and i nspire free#
More than ever, the possibilities of free India become all the more apparent when we embark on the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Being free means so much more when we know all the struggles and sacrifices that went into earning that right and becoming a nation. These premises used to be the Viceregal Lodge, the seat of British imperial authority and the summer capital of India, until our second president, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, handed them to the nation for an institute of higher research and study. Some of my most moving and proud moments were when I unfurled the national flag from the front lawns of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, as its Director. Truly, this signals the democratisation of the flag and the transfer of its ownership from the state to the people. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his latest “Mann ki Baat” address, has invited all of us not only to unfurl the flag in our homes in the campaign “Har Ghar Tiranga” - the tricolour in every home - but also post it on our social media handles and pin it virtually, for which we will also get a certificate. Fortunately, the flag code was amended first in 2002, then again last year to make it much more open to ordinary Indians and citizen friendly. As a PhD student in the United States, I found the stars and stripes unfurled in many American homes.
Men and women of reborn India rise and salute this Flag! I bid you, rise and salute the Flag.”Īs a child, I also wondered why we weren’t allowed to fly or even display the national flag in our homes. Whether we be Hindus or Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs or Zoroastrians and others, our Mother India has one undivided heart and one indivisible spirit. There is no privilege there is only duty and responsibility and sacrifice.
Speaking to the Constituted Assembly on 22 July 1947, the day the national flag, now fondly known as our Tricolour, was dedicated, she said, “Remember under this Flag there is no prince and there is no peasant, there is no rich and there is no poor. I didn’t realise then that he was, albeit unconsciously, echoing the words of Sarojini Naidu. “Under this flag, all are equal - prince, peasant, or pauper,” added, as if explaining its inner meaning. He had a better sense of what it meant to be free. Yet, this is one day when we must all come together.” My dad was born when India was still a British colony. He replied gravely, “When you take some hard knocks in life, you lose your trust in the system, even in the way your country is run. I wondered why that was: why scepticism, if not cynicism, about the nation crept in as people aged. But what struck me, even as a child, was how the adults were less enthusiastic than us. The latter were the added attraction, especially for kids.
It was a solemn occasion followed, of course, by the distribution of snacks and sweets. As children, we always looked forward to Independence Day, especially the hoisting of the national flag.