India Flag Flying High: The Hoisted Tricolour

The flag at full mast

This is the Tiranga as most of India first meets it — run up a tall mast and left to the wind, saffron uppermost, the navy Ashoka Chakra turning at the centre of the white band. A hoisted flag like this one crowns Independence Day and Republic Day, schoolyards and secretariats, and, since the Har Ghar Tiranga years, an ever-growing number of ordinary rooftops.

The scene is governed more carefully than it looks. The Flag Code of India, 2002 asks that the flag always fly in the 3 : 2 proportion, never touch the ground, and always carry saffron on top; a damaged flag comes down. Since the 2022 amendment to the Code, the Tiranga no longer needs to be lowered at sunset — it may fly through the night, so long as it is properly lit. Every picture in this gallery opens on a page of its own; walk the series with the buttons below.