Govt to reach out to 20 cr homes through ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ drive

“Har Ghar Tiranga (or Bringing the flag home) in the 75th year of Independence is not only an act of personal connection with the Tricolour, but also an embodiment of our commitment to nation-building,” says a statement on the programme website, adding: “The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of people and promote awareness about our national flag.”

In December last year, the Flag Code of India, 2002, was amended and the national flag made of polyester or machine-made flag was allowed. Now, as per the amended flag code, the national flag shall be hand spun and handwoven or machine-made, cotton/polyester/wool/silk/khadi bunting.

To make the flags available on such a large scale, the government has already reached out to manufacturers and e-commerce sites to boost its availability, said officials. The ministry is planning on celebrating August 11-17 as “Independence Week” across the country, during which, more than 20 crore households would be roped in to hoist the Tricolour as a part of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ programme.

The ministry is also holding meetings with e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart to make sure these sites would be a platform to buy flags. Various state governments and UT administrations have been roped in for smooth coordination.

Culture Secretary Govind Mohan says “In the last 15 months of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, more than 47,000 programmes have been done – from commemorating unsung heroes of freedom struggle to celebrating India’s achievements across spheres through Dhara: an ode to Indian knowledge systems, from documenting local history to celebrating India’s literary contributions… Har Ghar Tiranga is the next big initiative, through which, we encourage everyone to display the flag at home on August 15 and mark their commitment to nation building.”