PM Modi commissions India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS VikrantWhile the Cross was removed in 2001, it came back in 2004. The reason: The new flag was indistinguishable as the blue of the Navy crest merged with the skies and the sea.
New Delhi, Sep 02: With the commissioning of the indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy also got a new ensign today. This is an important step as the new ensign has done away with the colonial past with the St George's Cross being taken out.
This is the fourth time that a change has been made in the naval ensign. While the St. George's Cross has remained in the ensign ever since India gained independence, it was removed briefly between 2001 and 2004 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in power. When the UPA led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi came to power in 2004, the Cross was back in the ensign.
During the Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there was a need to decolonise India. He also called for the decolonisation and urged everyone to look for the traces of slavery around them so that the nation could eliminate these traces.
PM Modi commissions India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant
The new naval ensign (Nishaan) to be launched by PM Modi at Cochin Shipyard Limited will do away "with the colonial past," and will be "befitting the rich Indian maritime heritage," the Prime Minister's Office said in a release.
The new ensign replaces the flag that had Saint George's Cross with the tricolour in the top left corner. The ensign was a successor to the pre-independence era ensign of the Navy which had a Red Cross on a white background and carried the Union Jack of the UK in the canton.
The new ensign of the @indiannavy and an inspiration from Shivaji Maharaj#IndianNavy #INSVikrant #shivajimaharaj pic.twitter.com/hdRwJruNZ7
— Oneindia News (@Oneindia) September 2, 2022
While the Cross was removed in 2001, it came back in 2004. The reason for the cross making a return was attributed to complaints that the new flag was indistinguishable as the blue of the Navy crest merged with the skies and the sea. While bringing back the national emblem was introduced in the middle of the flag.
In 2014, the Navy's ensign had a new addition and that was the words 'Satyameva Jayate' in Devnagari. This was introduced below the Ashoka emblem.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a naval ensign which draws inspiration from Shivaji Maharaj, thus reducing the burden of a colonial past. The new ensign comprising the National Flag in the upper left canton and a navy blue gold octagon at the centre of the flag. Below the shield is the inscription of the motto of the Indian Navy, 'Sam No Varunah'.
PM Modi unveils new ensign of Indian Navy
"The design encompassed within the octagon has been taken from the Indian naval crest, wherein the fouled anchor, which is also associated with colonial legacy, has been replaced with a clear anchor underscoring the steadfastness of the Indian Navy. The twin octagonal borders draw inspiration from Shivaji Maharaj Rajmudra or the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, one of the prominent Indian kings with a visionary maritime outlook, who built a credible naval fleet that earned grudging admiration from European navies operating in the region at the time," a statement by the Navy read.