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The Modi administration will replace the colonial St. George’s Cross with a new flag for the Indian Navy

On Friday, the new Naval Ensign will be revealed; this will be the fourth redesign of the ensign since 1950.

In New Delhi: The launching of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant, will take place in Kochi on Friday, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reveal the new Naval Ensign (Nishaan) for the Indian Navy.

The new ensign, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, would “do away with the colonial history… befitting the great Indian maritime legacy.”

The Indian flag is overlaid on the junction of the Navy’s existing ensign, which is a white flag with red bars running horizontally and vertically to represent the Cross of Saint George. In the upper canton, near to the staff, is where the tricolour is displayed.

Despite refusing to comment on the new design, sources in the defence and security community told ThePrint that the cross would be removed. Along with some colour adjustments, the naval crest with an anchor would also be included. The sources further stated that the Indian Air Force and Army flags would continue to share some characteristics.

Since 1950, there has been a change of the Naval Ensign four times.

When India became a republic on January 26, 1950, the Navy Crest and flags were officially “Indianized.” The Red St. George’s Cross was still present on the latter (Ensign and Distinguishing Flags), even though the tricolour took the place of the Union flag.

It’s interesting to note that the Indian Navy kept the Red St. George’s Cross on its new ensigns and flags until 2001 when other former colonial Navies did not.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee administration revised the ensign’s appearance with effect from August 15, 2001, and the Cross was removed from the Indian Navy emblem.

Vice Admiral Vivian Barboza had the notion to alter the Navy’s ensign in the early 1970s. Having served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, Admiral Barboza retired from the Indian Navy.

But the previous ensign was reinstated in April 2004, one month before the UPA government took office, after objections from the force that the navy’s blue was too similar to the sky and the ocean. With the insertion of the Indian emblem at its intersection, the current ensign was converted back to the St. George’s Cross design.

The national anthem “Satyameva Jayate” was added to the navy crest and ensign in 2014 along with the Devanagari script.

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