Celebs say the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign has personalised their bond with Tricolour

Sheetal

The Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, which kicked off on Saturday, under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, is to encourage people to bring Tiranga home and hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s Independence today. We talk to celebs, who have hoisted National Flag, and are beaming with pride.

Hoisting with proud

Actor Rajkummar Rao posted a picture and wrote, “Vijayi Vishv Tiranga Pyara, Jhanda Uncha Rahe Humara. To 75 years of Freedom, Strength and Success as a Nation. Let’s do our bit and raise the national flag high. #HappyIndependenceDay #HarGharTiranga.”

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, on Saturday morning, was also seen hoisting Tricolour at his residence in Kerala. He said, “I joined citizens to hoist National Flag, honouring the PM’s call of Har Ghar Tiranga. May this Mahotsav bring courage and inspire us to move forward with patriotism.” National Flag was also spotted at the residence of celebs like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Sunny Deol and Govinda.

Newly married couple, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhat, also participated in the Har Ghar Tiranga abhiyan. Salman Khan, who hoisted Tiranga at his Galaxy Apartments, was also a part of another event where he spent an entire day with the sailors of the Indian Navy in Vishakhapatnam.

The anthem

Almost every second celeb from the entertainment industry has put Tricolour as display picture (dp) for social media handles. And some big names from the film, music and sports also have become a part of the Tiranga anthem which is sung in different languages saying one common thing— Har Ghar Tiranga. The part of the song is sung by Amitabh Bachchan, Asha Bhonsle and Sonu Nigam. Its video features Anushkha Sharma, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Anupam Kher from Bollywood, Prabhas and Keerthy Suresh from Tollywood. From the sports world, it has Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Kapil Dev, Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu and PV Sidhu.

Changing history

Earlier, Indian citizens were not allowed to hoist National Flag except on selected occasions. This changed after a decade-long legal battle by industrialist Naveen Jindal culminated in the landmark Supreme Court judgement of January 23, 2004, that declared that the right to fly the National Flag freely with respect and dignity is a Fundamental Right of an Indian citizen within the meaning of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India.

The Flag Code of India was earlier amended in December last year allowing the use of polyester, apart from cotton, wool, silk and khadi for making hand-spun, hand-woven and machine-made flags.

The government made a special amendment in the Flag Code of India allowing institutions, private organisations and individuals to hoist/display National Flag day and night. I think it’s a great opportunity to bring the National Flag into our homes and honour it. — Delnaaz Irani