National Symbols Of I-N-D-I-A

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NATIONAL FLAG --- [b]INDIAN TRI COLOR FLAG[/b]

[img]http://www.indiacsr.in/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/india-flag.jpg[/img]




The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the chakra.
The top saffron colour, indicates the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The green shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land.
Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.

The National flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of deep saffron, white and India green; with the Ashok Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the official flag of the Dominion of India. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolor" (Hindi:तिरंगा, Tirangā) almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on theSwaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.

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[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]NATIONAL EMBLEM --- [b]LION CAPITAL OF ASOKA (3 FACE LION(4))[/b][/font][/color]

[img]http://indiabout.com/about/national-symbols/files/2011/08/ashoka-stambh-ll-national-emblem-ll-national-symbols-ll-About-India-490x597.jpg[/img]


The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

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[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]NATIONAL CALENDAR --- [b]SAKA CALENDAR [/b][/font][/color]

[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rP_AS70sTYQ/T1WfQuttmpI/AAAAAAAAFak/zFEiWmtNfXQ/s1600/saka-year-indian-national-calendar.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.thegeminigeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/The-Indian-calendar-or-the-Saka-Calendar.jpg[/img]




The calendar was introduced by the Calendar Reform Committee in 1957, as part of the Indian Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, which also contained other astronomical data, as well as timings and formulae for preparing Hindu religious calendars, in an attempt to harmonise this practice. Despite this effort, local variations based on older sources such as the Surya Siddhanta may still exist.

Usage officially started at Chaitra 1, 1879 Saka Era, or March 22, 1957. However, government officials seem to largely ignore the New Year's Day of this calendar in favour of the religious calendar.

The national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregorian calendar for the following official purposes:
-Gazette of India.
-News broadcast by All India Radio.
-Calendars issued by the Government of India.
-Government communications addressed to the members of the public.
Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of the Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March in leap year.

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NATIONAL ANTHEM --- [b]JANA-GANA-MANA[/b]

[img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SCG-OQGk1gs/Sw0UMerzCUI/AAAAAAAABSc/lUMoY8o7pd0/s400/JanaGanaMana.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.tourindia.com/gif/janagana.gif[/img]


"Jana Gana Mana" is the national anthem of India. Written in highly Sanskritized (Tatsama) Bengali, it is the first of five stanzas of aBrahmo hymn composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It was first sung in Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911. "Jana Gana Mana" was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950. 27 December 2011 marked the completion of 100 years of Jana Gana Mana since it was sung for the first time.
The original poem written by Rabinder Nath Tagore was translated into Hindi by Abid Ali. The original Hindi version of the song Jana Gana Mana, translated by Ali and based on the poem by Tagore, was a little different. It was "Sukh Chain Ki Barkha Barase, Bharat Bhagya Hai Jaga....". Jana Gana Mana was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950.

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NATIONAL LANGUAGE --- [b]HINDI[/b]

[img]http://www.indovacations.net/english/images/hindi-letters.gif[/img]


The Constitution of India, adopted in 1950, declares Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of the Federal Government of India. It should be noted that English continues to be used as an Official language of India along with Hindi. Hindi is also enumerated as one of the twenty-two languages of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which entitles it to representation on the Official Language Commission. The Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of Hindi and English to be the two languages of communication for the Central Government. Most of government documentation is prepared in three languages: English, Hindi, and the official state language.
It was envisioned that Hindi would become the sole working language of the Central government by 1965 (per directives in Article 344 (2) and Article 351), with state governments being free to function in languages of their own choice. However, widespread resistance movements to the imposition of Hindi on non-native speakers, of especially the people living in south India (such as the Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu) led to the passage of the Official Languages Act (1963), which provided for the continued use of English, indefinitely, for all official purposes. Therefore, English is still used in official documents, in courts, etc

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NATIONAL SONG --- [b]VANDE-MATARAM[/b]

[img]http://www.indiavilas.com/kidscorner/telugu/vande.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.tourindia.com/gif/vandeh.gif[/img]


Vande Mataram (I bow to thee, Mother") is a poem from the famed novel Anandamath which was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882. It was written in Bengali and Sanskrit. It is a hymn to Goddess Durga, identified as the national personification of India. It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement, first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.
In 1950 (after India's independence), the song's first two verses were given the official status of the "national song" of the Republic of India, distinct from the national anthem of India Jana Gana Mana.

The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

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NATIONAL FLOWER --- [b]LOTUS[/b]

[img]http://images.travelpod.com/users/robynanddavid/1.1254639443.red-lotus-fogg-dam.jpg[/img]


The reason this flower was chosen is because it signifies that which keeps itself pure even when living in a rough environment.
Lotus is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture

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NATIONAL FRUIT --- [b]MANGO([/b]Mangifera indica)


[img]http://www.herbal-ayurveda-remedy.com/herbs/images/mangotreefruits.jpg[/img]


Mangoes have been cultivated in India from time immemorial. The poet Kalidasa sang its praises. Alexander savoured its taste, as did the Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang. Mughal emperor Akbar planted 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga, Bihar at a place now known as Lakhi Bagh.

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NATIONAL RIVER --- [b]GANGA[/b]

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Varanasiganga.jpg/800px-Varanasiganga.jpg[/img]


The Ganges is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it ranks among the world's top 20 rivers. The Ganges basin is the most heavily populated river basin in the world, with over 400 million people and a population density of about 1,000 inhabitants per square mile (390 /km2)

The Ganga or Ganges is the longest river of India flowing over 2,510 kms of mountains, valleys and plains. It originates in the snowfields of the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas as the Bhagirathi River. It is later joined by other rivers such as the Alaknanda, Yamuna, Son, Gumti, Kosi and Ghagra. The Ganga river basin is one of the most fertile and densely populated areas of the world and covers an area of 1,000,000 sq. kms. There are two dams on the river - one at Haridwar and the other at Farakka. The Ganges River Dolphin is an endangered animal that specifically habitats this river.
The Ganga is revered by Hindus as the most sacred river on earth. Key religious ceremonies are held on the banks of the river at cities such as Varanasi, Haridwar and Allahabad. The Ganga widens out into the Ganges Delta in the Sunderbans swamp of Bangladesh, before it ends its journey by emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

[cherlapalli_jailer]

GP [img]http://www.desigifs.com/sites/default/files/indian-flag-flighing-high-o.gif?1297827504[/img]

[Kakateyudu]

[quote name='cherlapalli_jailer' timestamp='1340729973' post='1302033729']
GP [img]http://www.desigifs.com/sites/default/files/indian-flag-flighing-high-o.gif?1297827504[/img]
[/quote]
ee gif nene chesa 2 years back

[old_india]

NATIONAL TREE --- [b]Indian Banyan[/b] (Indian fig tree (Ficus bengalensis))

[img]http://indiabout.com/about/national-symbols/files/2011/08/Banyan-fig-tree-ll-National-Tree-of-India-ll-Indian-National-symbols-ll-490x378.jpg[/img]




The branches of Indian Banyan tree root themselves to form new trees and grow over large areas. Because of this characteristic and its longevity, this tree is considered immortal and is an integral part of the myths and legends of India.

This tree is considered sacred in India, and often shelters a little or larger temple underneath, but is offered worship on its own generally too, and especially so on one particular full moon day in summer when the full moon occurs near the last star of the constellation Scorpio but definitely before beginning of Sagittarius.Even apart from the worship, it is one of the most sheltering trees in the heat of the land, with a large and deep shade, and is thus extremely useful for travellers of the old sort - on foot, bicycles or oxcarts, or horse riders - travelling for hours or days; traditionally it was found almost ubiquitously on roads and in village centres, the latter very useful for any formal or informal gathering to be conducted in a cool place or even for any poor person or a traveller to sleep under. The respect for this and other trees of this nature is thus linked both to the use and the worship as sacred. Also known as Indian Banyan, Ficus bengalensis is also the National tree of India.

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NATIONAL ANIMAL --- [b]TIGER [/b](Panthera tigris)

[img]http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images/tiger_2.jpg[/img]



The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris is a striped animal. It has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength, agility and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the Royal Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western region and also in the neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. To check the dwindling population of tigers in India, 'Project Tiger' was launched in April 1973. So far, 27 tiger reserves have been established in the country under this project, covering an area of 37,761 sq km.