Not all superheroes wear caps, some wear tricolours! The story of the national flag of India, which became the cynosure of all the world’s eyes as India celebrated its 75 years of Independence on August 15 this year, started at a meeting of the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947.
After January 26, 1950, the tricolour continues to serve as the national flag of the Republic of India. The term ‘tricolour’ refers to the three main colours depicted on it – saffron, white and green!
In wake of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, celebrating 75 years of India’s independence, on July 22, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign and invoked the participation of all Indians in celebrating the remarkable journey of 75 years of the Indian freedom movement.
The campaign became a trailblazing success especially across social media platforms, ensuring that the young audience from our country was able to establish a bond with the national flag. Through various means, like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc, the “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign reached every home, every locality, every town and every city in the country, with the tricolour flying proudly in digital formats and atop rooftops, on windows and doors, on bicycle handles as well as auto-rickshaws, trucks, buses, etc.
There is little doubt that Indians responded overwhelmingly to PM Modi’s appeal and embraced the tricolour like never before! In fact, PM Modi the first Prime Minister in the history of India to call upon his countrymen in this manner and request them to own the national flag, launching a new era in the tricolour’s history.
The Har Ghar Tiranga campaign is, perhaps, the first such government-initiated campaign to receive such high level of public engagement across the length and breadth of India. Quite naturally, the people connect with the national tricolour has made netizens aware of the stories of those superhuman men and women who have been carrying the tricolour in their hearts and hands much before the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.
These inspiring stories about Indians from remote places of the country, captured beautify on AmritMahotsav social media would warm up your heart and inspire you for many more Independence Day celebrations.
Sharad Chandorkar, Jhansi
This 67-year-old gentleman has been carrying out a daily Tiranga yatra for the past decade, after being inspired by the brave life of Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi. He doesn’t care whether it is a sunny or a rainy day, he picks up his bicycle and leaves his home every morning at 5 am to carry the national flag through the streets of Jhansi till 7.30 am.
When asked what motivates him to pick up the flag daily, he says, “My aim is to educate the public and make it aware about the value of our national flag. I derive inspiration from historical figures like Rani Laxmi Bai, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Swami Vivekanand.” Sharad Ji is a true Indian whose determination to keep the tricolour flying high has made him a well-known figure among the natives of Jhansi.
AALUDA, RAJASTHAN
Sometimes, it is a place, more than a man or a woman, who carries within itself a deeper connection to history. Like the Aaluda village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, which has an old connection to Khadi, the fabric that represents India’s defiance to British rule.
The tricolour hoisted at the Lal Qila on August 15, 1947, was made with Khadi woven in this village. Actually, Aaluda village is home to dozens of Khadi weavers since before independence and by weaving the Khadi that went into making the first-ever tricolour to be hoisted during India’s first-ever Independence Day celebration has ensured Aaluda a place in the golden pages of history.
SANJEEVANI, RATNAGIRI
For all Indians, Bharat Mata is a concept we may carry in our hearts and minds, but Sanjeevani of Ratnagiri, Pune has gone ahead and manifested Bharat Mata in the form of an idol, whom she worships every day inside a ‘Mandir’ that she has built herself.
In this temple, Sanjeevani prays to Bharat Mata daily and also worships the Tiranga as well as the Constitution of India. All this is done with the help of her meagre pension, which she also uses to help needy people.
AKHTAR QURESHI, RAIPUR
Every morning, for the past several years, Akhtar Qureshi dresses up in the colours of the national flag and walks on the streets of Raipur in Chhattisgarh, to spread the message of love, harmony and patriotism among the residents, with a huge Tiranga in his hands.
No wonder then that he is popularly known as the ‘Tiranga Man’ throughout the country. Inspired by the sacrifices of millions of freedom fighters, Sh. Qureshi also spread messages of social empowerment so as to create awareness among the public about burning social issues.
Har Ghar Tiranga has lighted a burning desire in all Indians to associate with the tricolour at a more personal level, in a public manner. However, the rare and unique stories of people of different backgrounds, from different places in the country are inspiring at many levels.
Therefore, in order to keep up this emotional fervour and honour the sentiments of millions of Indian martyrs who gave up their lives for the motherland, this is one journey, which shouldn’t stop anytime soon.
