What will you do with the national flag now that ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is over? Obviously, not throw it in the bin or outside your window. According to the National Flag Code, 2022, there are two ways to dispose of the Tricolour – by burying or burning it
After a long Independence Day weekend, it’s Tuesday blues as we get back to routine. But even as we reminisce the celebrations, let’s not forget about the Tricolour that we so proudly hoisted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign was a roaring success. From humble homes of India’s common man to plush houses of ministers and celebrities, the national flag dotted almost every street of India. More than 30 crore flags were sold this year, according to the traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders.
Also read: Explained: Why the Tricolour is hoisted on Independence Day but unfurled on Republic Day
But now what do we do with the flag in our house? How do we dispose it of? The obvious answer is please don’t discard it in the dustbin.
What does the Flag Code say?
While there are rules on hoisting the national flag, there are also guidelines on how to dispose it of. There has been growing concern, especially this year, because of the popular Har Ghar Tiranga campaign that the flags might not get their due disrespect post the Independence Day festivities.
The Flag Code of India, 2022, which was amended vide Order dated 30 December 2021, laid down rules on how to use, display and hoist the national flag. It took effect on 26 January 2022.
It allowed the national flag made of polyester or stitched using machines. Now, the Tricolour can be made of hand-spun, hand-woven or machine-made cotton, polyester, wool, silk and khadi bunting.
The Flag Code also lays down rules on what to do with the Tiranga after Independence Day. The flag should not be stored in a way that might soil or damage it.
In case the flag is damaged, the Flag Code says that it should be not be dumped, cast aside or treated with disrespect. The flag should be destroyed “as a whole in private, preferably by burning or by any method consistent with the dignity of the flag”.
When burning the flag, a safe place is to be chosen and cleaned. Damaged flags are to be folded and after building a fire they are to be carefully placed in the centre of the flames. Burning a flag without folding it or first lighting it and then putting it on fire is an offence, according to a report in The Hindustan Times (HT).
The flag can also be buried. All damaged flags should be collected, folded and placed in a wooden box, which is then to be buried in the earth. A moment of silence is to be observed once the flags are buried, the report says.
Flags made of paper should not be thrown on the ground after the ceremony. The flag “shall not be allowed to touch the ground or the floor or trail in the water”, the code instructs.
How to fold the flag?
Rules have also been laid down on how the national flag should be folded. The Ministry of Culture has shared a four-step guide on Twitter.
Step 1: The Indian national flag must be placed horizontally.Step 2: The saffron and green bands need to be folded beneath the white band.Step 3: The white band needs to be then folded in such a manner that only the Ashoka Chakra is visible with parts of the saffron and green bands.Step 4: The folded Indian national flag needs to be carried in arms or palms to store it in a safe place.
What happens if you disrespect the flag?
Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, says, “Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag… shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with a fine, or with both”.
More than 30 crore flags were sold this year, according to the traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders. AP
What are civic bodies doing to dispose of flags?The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said it has given special instructions to its safai sainiks to collect dishevelled or soiled flags separately. “MCD attaches huge importance and dignity to the national flag. In pursuance to this, it has given special instructions to its Safai Sainiks to collect dishevelled or soiled flags separately and deposit them in their respective zonal control room,” MCD director (Press and Information) Amit Kumar told PTI.
“These flags will then be disposed of with all dignity and respect as per the prescriptions laid down in the Flag Code,” he added.
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has geared up to dispose of national flags as people often throw paper flags, plastic, and polyester flags in the open.
Additional municipal commissioner Abhay Pandey told HT, “The national flag code will be followed by the LMC for the proper disposal of flags. Every year a number of flags are left abandoned by residents and the LMC sanitation staff, cleaning the city did not have knowledge about how to segregate the national flag. Now, we have sensitised them about the importance of the national flag and the honour associated with it.”
The LMC has reportedly educated sanitation workers on the burial of flags which are not fit for use and are abandoned by residents. The civic body has distributed cloth flags so that they could be preserved for longer.
The Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation has said that flags should be kept at home as a token of the 75th Independence Day.
“The flag code has been tweaked for three days (between August 13-15) earlier in July by the government of India keeping in mind the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, and we have appealed to people to preserve these flags as part of this year’s celebration. However, if we receive any complaint of tampering or damaging national flags after August 15, then action would be taken,” said a senior civic official.
In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are also collecting flags to ensure they are discarded properly. Non-profits and volunteers in Mumbai are gathering national flags after the celebrations.
Atul Goyal, who heads the United Residents Joint Action (URJA), a civil society initiative of 2,500 residents’ welfare associations in and around the national capital said that a circular has been issued to RWAs members to collect flags from their area and deposit them at a designated place. “URJA will then dispose of the flags and ensure there is no disrespect,” he said.With inputs from agencies
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