Indian Flag Proposals (original) (raw)

It should be noted that there are, today, elements within India (as elsewhere?) who reject or challenge the secular state and call for a new flag, taking out the green and white (and what they symbolize?) and going to some form of all-orange flag, to represent a "Hindu India."

Ed Haynes, 10 April 1996

From 'The ABC of Heraldry' written by G.C. Rothery, 1915:

"When Lord Ampthill was in office in India he suggested a 'national' flag for the whole Viceroyalty; but nothing came of it. Thereupon 'Nondescript', in the pages of an Anglo-Indian weekly, put forward the following design.

"Draw a rectangle 8 inches by 5 inches and give it a red border 1/4 of an inch wide, the enclosed rectangle measuring 7 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches.
"Draw a vertical line at the staff end one inch from the border, leaving 6 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches.
"Divide the depth of 4 1/2 inches into three horizontal bands, each 6 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches deep, coloured respectively, from the top, dark blue, green, and light blue. The vertical band, 4 1/2 inches by one inch to contain the Constellation of Orion, a familiar sight in the Eastern Sky, set upright, silver stars on a purple background.
"United India would be represented by the stars of the Constellation (the number being modified to suit the United Provinces and States; the 'Foreign' element, which has welded India into a whole, and which keeps it united, by the red border; the deep blue band would stand for Hindus and Buddhists; the green for the Mohomedans and the light or sky-blue band for the Indian Christians."

"Moreover, he thought that the "Orion" vertical band should have a compartment or space, about 3/4 inch deep, reserved at top for provincial or state ensigns or (in case of flags floating over Government Imperial buildings, forts, or ships) the royal arms."