The Hindu HELD HIGH: Naveen Jindal. Photo: V.V. Krishnan
It has been only a few months since a large Indian flag, apparently India’s largest, started dominating the skyline of Delhi’s Connaught Place, and on August 11, it became the backdrop of a week-long Independence Day celebrations at CP’s Central Park.
Organised by the Flag Foundation of India in collaboration with the New Delhi Municipal Council, the celebrations aimed at fostering an atmosphere of national togetherness to celebrate Independence Day.
The crowd, on day one was regaled by patriotic songs by Srikant Mohan, who managed to encourage the audience to join him. With the Indian tricolour forming a critical component of the evening, there was an unrestrained display of patriotism.
The celebrations were kicked off by Naveen Jindal, president of the Flag Foundation of India. In his short address, Jindal underlined the need to understand the significance of the national flag and national symbols in general.
“The right of the private citizen to display the national flag is a recent one. We did not have this right in the pre-Independence era as the flag was not ours and, we did not have it till very recently after Independence because the ability to display the flag was limited to the Government,” said Jindal, while enjoining the audience to take advantage of this liberty and sport national symbols on their person in the run up to national days.
The evening continued with Srikant Mohan reprising some classical patriotic songs.
Day two saw a presentation by the Indian Naval band followed by fireworks. August 13th and 14th featured a flash dance, a laser show, with fireworks and the national anthem rounding out the evenings.
There was an exhibition on the national flag which ran concurrently with the events till August 15.
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