National Symbols of India: Flag, Emblem and Anthem
Complete notes on the national symbols of India for exams: flag, emblem, anthem, song, calendar, rupee sign and the national animal, bird, flower, river and tree.
By GK24 Editorial Team· Published · 4 min read
The national symbols of India are the handful of objects, songs and living things that the Republic adopted to stand for itself. They are among the safest scoring rows in static General Knowledge, because each one comes with a fixed date, a fixed author or a fixed designer, and those are exactly what a paper asks. Learn each symbol with three things: what it is, who made or chose it, and when it was adopted.
The National Flag
The National Flag of India is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom, in equal bands, with a navy blue wheel of twenty four spokes at the centre of the white band. Its ratio of width to length is two to three. The Constituent Assembly adopted it on 22 July 1947, a few weeks before independence. The design grew out of the flag proposed by Pingali Venkayya, with the spinning wheel of the Congress flag replaced by the Ashoka Chakra, the wheel of law from the Lion Capital at Sarnath. The saffron stands for strength and courage, the white for peace and truth, and the green for fertility, growth and auspiciousness. The flag is traditionally made of hand spun and hand woven khadi, and its manufacture follows a Bureau of Indian Standards specification. Its display is governed by the Flag Code of India, 2002, and insults to it are punishable under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
The State Emblem
The State Emblem of India was adopted on 26 January 1950, the day the Constitution came into force. It is adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, near Varanasi, which is preserved in the Sarnath Museum. In the original capital four lions stand back to back; in the emblem only three are seen, the fourth being hidden from view. The abacus below carries a Dharma Chakra in the centre, a bull to the right and a horse to the left, with the outlines of the other wheels at the edges. The inverted bell shaped lotus of the original capital is left out of the emblem. Below the abacus is the motto Satyameva Jayate, meaning truth alone triumphs, written in Devanagari script and taken from the Mundaka Upanishad. Its use is restricted by the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005.
The National Anthem and the National Song
The National Anthem is Jana Gana Mana, the first stanza of a Bengali song written by Rabindranath Tagore. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress, and the Constituent Assembly adopted it as the anthem on 24 January 1950. The full version takes about fifty two seconds to play and a short version about twenty seconds. Tagore himself rendered it into English as The Morning Song of India. The National Song is Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in Sanskritised Bengali and included in his novel Anandamath. It was first sung at the 1896 session of the Congress, and on the same day of January 1950 it was given a status equal to that of the anthem.
Symbols drawn from nature
These rows are asked as matching pairs, so keep the scientific names with them.
| Symbol | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|
| National Animal | Royal Bengal Tiger, Panthera tigris | Adopted in 1972 in place of the lion |
| National Heritage Animal | Elephant, Elephas maximus | Declared in 2010 |
| National Bird | Indian Peacock, Pavo cristatus | Declared in 1963 |
| National Flower | Lotus, Nelumbo nucifera | Sacred in Indian tradition |
| National Tree | Indian Banyan, Ficus benghalensis | Spreads by aerial roots |
| National Fruit | Mango, Mangifera indica | Praised by Kalidasa and Amir Khusrau |
| National River | Ganga | Declared the National River in 2008 |
| National Aquatic Animal | Gangetic Dolphin, Platanista gangetica | Notified in 2009 |
Calendar, currency sign and pledge
The National Calendar is based on the Saka era and was adopted along with the Gregorian calendar from 22 March 1957 for the Gazette of India, All India Radio news broadcasts and government communications. Its first month is Chaitra, which normally begins on 22 March and on 21 March in a leap year, and its year runs three hundred and sixty five days. The Indian rupee sign was designed by D. Udaya Kumar and approved by the Union Cabinet on 15 July 2010; it joins the Devanagari letter ra to the Latin letter R and the two parallel lines at the top suggest the tricolour and the equals sign. The National Pledge was written in Telugu by Pydimarri Venkata Subba Rao in 1962 and was first read in schools on 26 January 1965.
How the symbols are protected
- Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971: covers the flag, the Constitution and the anthem.
- Flag Code of India, 2002: brings together the rules for hoisting and displaying the flag.
- State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005: restricts the use of the emblem.
- Fundamental Duty under Article 51A(a): to abide by the Constitution and respect the national flag and the National Anthem.
Exam Point of View
Papers ask this topic as one line facts, so the date and the name are what matter. The favourites are the day the flag was adopted, the day the emblem was adopted, the number of spokes in the Ashoka Chakra, the ratio of the flag, the source of Satyameva Jayate, the author and first singing of the anthem, the novel that carries Vande Mataram, and the designer of the rupee sign. Matching questions pair the national animal, bird, flower, tree, fruit, river and aquatic animal with their names or scientific names. The common traps are three: mixing up 22 July 1947 for the flag with 26 January 1950 for the emblem and the anthem; treating Vande Mataram as the anthem and Jana Gana Mana as the song; and claiming four lions are visible in the emblem when only three are. A fourth trap is the belief that the lion is still the National Animal.
Important Facts
| Flag adopted | 22 July 1947, by the Constituent Assembly |
|---|---|
| Flag ratio | Width to length, two to three |
| Ashoka Chakra | Navy blue wheel of twenty four spokes |
| Flag designer | Based on the design proposed by Pingali Venkayya |
| Flag rules | Flag Code of India, 2002 |
| Emblem adopted | 26 January 1950 |
| Emblem source | Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath |
| Motto | Satyameva Jayate, from the Mundaka Upanishad |
| National Anthem | Jana Gana Mana by Rabindranath Tagore, adopted 24 January 1950 |
| Anthem first sung | 27 December 1911, Calcutta session of the Congress |
| Anthem playing time | About fifty two seconds for the full version |
| National Song | Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, from Anandamath |
| National Animal | Royal Bengal Tiger, adopted 1972 |
| National Aquatic Animal | Gangetic Dolphin, notified 2009 |
| National Calendar | Saka calendar from 22 March 1957, first month Chaitra |
| Rupee sign | Designed by D. Udaya Kumar, approved 15 July 2010 |
Practice MCQs on this topic
On which day was the National Emblem of India adopted?
- A.15 August 1947
- B.26 January 1959
- C.26 January 1950
- D.15 August 1952
Show answer
The State Emblem of India was adopted on the day the Constitution came into force and the country became a Republic.
Read the full explanation →Which is the national heritage animal of India?
- A.Lion
- B.Horse
- C.Tiger
- D.Elephant
Show answer
The Indian elephant, Elephas maximus indicus, was declared the National Heritage Animal in 2010 on the recommendation of the Elephant Task Force, so that its protection could be given the same weight as that of the tiger.
Read the full explanation →The National Flag of India in its present form was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on
- A.22 July 1947
- B.15 August 1947
- C.26 November 1949
- D.26 January 1950
Show answer
The Constituent Assembly adopted the tricolour on that day, a few weeks before independence, after a committee under Dr Rajendra Prasad settled the design.
Read the full explanation →What is the ratio of the width to the length of the National Flag of India?
- A.Three to four
- B.Two to three
- C.One to two
- D.Three to five
Show answer
The Flag Code of India fixes the shape of the National Flag as a rectangle whose width stands to its length as two to three, so a flag six hundred millimetres in length is four hundred millimetres in height.
Read the full explanation →The motto Satyameva Jayate inscribed below the State Emblem of India is taken from which text?
- A.Rigveda
- B.Bhagavad Gita
- C.Mundaka Upanishad
- D.Arthashastra
Show answer
Satyameva Jayate, meaning truth alone triumphs, comes from a verse of the Mundaka Upanishad, which belongs to the Atharva Veda.
Read the full explanation →Jana Gana Mana, the National Anthem of India, was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the session of the Indian National Congress held at
- A.Calcutta
- B.Bombay
- C.Lahore
- D.Nagpur
Show answer
Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali song was sung for the first time at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911.
Read the full explanation →Vande Mataram, the National Song of India, first appeared in which novel?
- A.Gora
- B.Anandamath
- C.Durgeshnandini
- D.Godan
Show answer
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed Vande Mataram in Sanskritised Bengali and later placed it in his novel Anandamath, published in 1882, where the ascetic rebels sing it.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is the National Aquatic Animal of India?
- A.Gangetic dolphin
- B.Olive ridley turtle
- C.Mahseer
- D.Dugong
Show answer
Platanista gangetica, the South Asian river dolphin of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna systems, was notified as the National Aquatic Animal in 2009.
Read the full explanation →The National Calendar of India is based on the Saka era. Which is its first month?
- A.Vaisakha
- B.Chaitra
- C.Magha
- D.Kartika
Show answer
The Saka calendar was adopted as the National Calendar with effect from 22 March 1957, which was the first of Chaitra in the Saka year 1879.
Read the full explanation →Who designed the Indian rupee sign that was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2010?
- A.Pingali Venkayya
- B.Nandalal Bose
- C.D. Udaya Kumar
- D.Deenanath Bhargava
Show answer
His design won a public competition and the Union Cabinet approved it on 15 July 2010.
Read the full explanation →The National Flag of India was based on the design proposed by
- A.Pingali Venkayya
- B.Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
- C.Rabindranath Tagore
- D.Sarojini Naidu
Show answer
He was a freedom fighter from the Machilipatnam region of present day Andhra Pradesh who studied flags for years and presented a design to Mahatma Gandhi at Vijayawada in 1921.
Read the full explanation →Which element of the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath was left out when the State Emblem of India was adapted from it?
- A.The Dharma Chakra on the abacus
- B.The inverted bell shaped lotus
- C.The bull and the horse
- D.The four lions
Show answer
The original capital at Sarnath rests on an inverted lotus shaped like a bell, and that part was deliberately omitted from the State Emblem, which begins at the abacus.
Read the full explanation →Frequently Asked Questions
When was the National Flag of India adopted?
The Constituent Assembly adopted it on 22 July 1947, about three weeks before independence. The design was based on the flag proposed by Pingali Venkayya, with the Ashoka Chakra of twenty four spokes in place of the spinning wheel of the Congress flag.
How many lions are visible in the State Emblem of India?
Three. The Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath has four lions standing back to back, but in the two dimensional emblem only three are seen and the fourth is hidden behind them. The inverted bell shaped lotus of the original capital is also left out.
What is the difference between the National Anthem and the National Song?
The National Anthem is Jana Gana Mana by Rabindranath Tagore, adopted on 24 January 1950, and it has rules for its playing and for standing to attention. The National Song is Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, from the novel Anandamath, given equal status the same day but without those formal rules.
Where does the motto Satyameva Jayate come from?
From the Mundaka Upanishad, part of the Atharva Veda. It appears below the abacus of the State Emblem in Devanagari script and means that truth alone triumphs. The full verse continues that by truth the divine path is laid out.
Which animal was the National Animal of India before the tiger?
The lion. The Royal Bengal Tiger replaced it in 1972, when Project Tiger was being prepared, because the tiger is found across far more of the country and stood better for the range of Indian wildlife. The lion survives in the Gir forest of Gujarat alone.
Who designed the Indian rupee sign?
D. Udaya Kumar, then a doctoral student of design at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, whose entry won a public competition. The Union Cabinet approved it on 15 July 2010. The sign combines the Devanagari letter ra with the Latin letter R, and the two horizontal lines at the top suggest both the tricolour and the equals sign.
Sources
- National Symbols of India — National Portal of India, Government of India
- Flag Code of India, 2002 — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
- The Constitution of India, Article 51A, Fundamental Duties — Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India
