Indian Flag Hoisting Rules: What are the new rules for hoisting the tricolor? If you make a mistake, you will get a ‘big punishment’

The practice of hoisting the tricolor in every house

Although hoisting the tricolor at your home on Independence Day is not a new thing. Many people have been doing this for a long time. But after the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2022, now even more people have started hoisting the tricolor at their homes.

It is important to note that it is very important to follow certain rules while hoisting the tricolor at home. If this is not done, our national flag may be insulted knowingly or unknowingly, which is a crime by law. In some cases, this can even lead to a jail term of up to three years.

Flag Code 2002

In our country, all the rules and laws related to hoisting the tricolor come under the ‘Flag Code 2002’. These rules are applicable from 26 January 2002. Before this, the rules for hoisting the tricolor came under the ‘Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950’ and ‘Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971’.

Modi government made 2 changes in 2022

In 2022, the central government made two major changes in the rules of the ‘Flag Code’. The first change was that instead of hoisting the tricolor till sunset, it can now be hoisted at night i.e. 24 hours a day. The government did this so that people could be encouraged to hoist the tricolor at their homes.

The second change made was that earlier only hand-woven and hand-spun wool, cotton or silk khadi tricolours were allowed to be hoisted. Now machine-made cotton, wool or silk khadi tricolours can also be hoisted. Not only this, polyester flags can also be hoisted.

Rules for hoisting the Indian tricolor flag

• While hoisting the flag, remember that it should be rectangular and its length-breadth ratio should be 3:2. This means that the length should be one and a half times the width.
• Keep in mind that the tricolor should never touch the ground.
• While hoisting the flag, the saffron colour should always be on top.
• Earlier the flag was hoisted only from sunrise to sunset, but now you can hoist it at night as well.
• If you are hoisting any other flag along with the Tricolour, keep in mind that the other flag should not be bigger than or equal to the national flag.
• Keep in mind that the flag should not be dipped in water and it is also wrong to write anything on it.
• The flag should not be flown at half mast without government orders. Also ensure that the tricolour does not touch the ground.
• It is good if the tricolour used for flag hoisting is made of Khadi, cotton or silk, however, after 2022, flags made of other materials can also be hoisted.