Delhi changes its colours with the calendar. As national occasions approach, saffron, white and green begin appearing everywhere. Shops display little flags, cars sport tricolour decorations, and WhatsApp groups with Tiranga backgrounds fill up with patriotic messages, often forwarded before the morning tea is poured. Something is moving about seeing the Tiranga flutter in the breeze, whether above a government building or from a modest balcony in the neighbourhood.

The Tiranga accompanies marches, lends colour to slogans, and occasionally seems to settle the question of who loves the country most. Our flag has a history far older than any present-day political processions. It evolved alongside our freedom struggle, born of a people’s desire to imagine a free country that belonged to all its people, including those who disagreed with one another. It was never meant to be merely a decorative emblem for national holidays. The freedom fighters struggled for a country in which its people could determine their own future. That freedom included the right to disagree, to ask inconvenient questions and to imagine the nation differently.

The Tiranga has survived wars, upheavals and generations of change. Not too long ago, it seemed that the Tiranga, along with nationalism itself, had been appropriated by a particular ideology. Waving the flag had become a political declaration, a way to prove one’s patriotism. Though the colours have remained the same, the voices beneath them seem to have changed. The flag is appearing in other hands, at other marches, accompanied by a different set of slogans. The new gathering seems equally convinced that it speaks for the nation. 

Let the Tiranga fly above our differences without pretending those differences do not exist. A flag that belongs to everyone should not require anyone to seek permission to stand beneath it.

Text and photos by Prerna Jain.