It’s okay to fly Tricolour at night

It is now okay to fly a Tricolour atop a giant mast at night, provided two conditions are met: the flag must remain illuminated and it should be in good condition.

It is now okay to fly a Tricolour atop a giant mast at night, provided two conditions are met: the flag must remain illuminated and it should be in good condition.

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On Tuesday evening, six months after Congress parliamentarian and industrialist Naveen Jindal submitted his request to this end, the union ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved of his proposal to set up “giant flagpoles for flying the National Flag day and night” at various places.

The ministry, MHA’s joint secretary (administration) RP Nath said in a letter, had examined Jindal’s proposal in the background of “instructions contained in the Flag Code (of India) and court rulings.”

Nath, however, clarified that this approval was subject to two conditions. Adequate arrangements must be made for the proper illumination of the Tricolour at night, with backup in case of any power failure, and for immediate replacement of the flag, if it gets damaged.

So far, Indian citizens were supposed to hoist the Tricolour in the open preferably during daytime. According to the Flag Code, “A member of public, a private organisation or an educational institution” should ensure that “where the Flag is displayed in open, as far as possible, (it) be flown from sunrise to sunset, irrespective of weather conditions.”

In his letter dated June 1 this year, Jindal had sought the ministry's “specific instructions for flying of massive national flags on monumental flagpoles during night hours”, citing examples of Malaysia, Jordan and Turkmenistan.

The reason was that hoisting a flag atop a giant flagpole took longer and ran a greater risk of the flag’s getting damaged in the process of hoisting twice a day, according to Jindal.

Jindal had set up two giant flagpoles, of 206 feet height, at Ladwa and Kaithal, located in his Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency.

Jindal could not be contacted as he was travelling, according to spokesperson Arun Arora. Arora said, “Mister Jindal is very happy and proud to have got the MHA’s approval. He is very patriotic and wants the country’s youth to take pride in the national tricolor, as he does.”