The Ribbon and the Rules: Where Play Ends

What the Code protects

Designers love this move — the flag loosened into a ribbon, the Chakra worn on it like a medal. Art in the flag’s colours is free to play exactly this way, and the gallery around this page is proof.

The flag itself is another matter. The Flag Code keeps the actual Tiranga in a position of honour: nothing flies above it, it is never used as drapery or costume, nothing is written or printed upon it, and when a flag is worn out it is retired privately, with dignity. The colours belong to everyone; the flag belongs to the nation.