#582 - The Story of India’s National Flag
by Kavitha Mandana and illustrated by Dhwani Ved
“The Story of India’s National Flag” by Kavitha Mandana and illustrated by Dhwani Ved. Published by Talking Cub, the children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger. An insightful book narrating how the Indian tricolour flag came into being.
Watching our national flag being hoisted on Independence and Republic Days is a source of delight and matter of pride for everyone. There are quite a few forgotten or not so well known stories of how our flag came to be. This beautifully illustrated book is filled with these stories and facts from history. They are accompanied by relevant photographs and pictures. The partition of Bengal in 1905 made independence a common goal shared by people across the entire subcontinent. The idea of a flag came about when a symbol for the independence struggle was needed.
Many patriotic Indians and foreigners who wanted India to be independent contributed to the design of the flag. The first flag was created by the revolutionary duo of Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo. Then came Sister Nivedita, an Irish teacher who became a disciple of Swami Vivekananda and created a flag whose elements live on even today albeit in a different form. Then came the Ghadar Party’s version of a flag. This was designed by its nineteen year old revolutionary Kartar Singh who was hung by the British. Not to forget the genius Pingali Venkayya, who was a flag designer, linguist, geologist as well as an agriscientist who created 30 different designs for the flag. Read this interesting book to discover facts such as these and more and delve into the history of the period leading to India’s independence in 1947.
I read this book with my ten and a half year old son during the recently observed Republic Day. The book gave us a valuable insight into the journey of our tricolour and so many events and people behind its creation. It was wonderful to step into the pages of history and get these details which are not so well known or buried in the sands of time. The information has been broken down into smaller stories narrated in an easy to understand manner thereby making it interesting for children. My son was curious to enhance his knowledge of the freedom struggle which is also being taught in school for him this year. How the flag was created and became a key part of our freedom struggle is such an inspirational story. People gave their lives trying to hoist the flag which became a symbol of our demand for independence. It was heart rending to read about one such hoisting incident that took place at the village of Vidurashwatha close to our home city of Bengaluru where many people died when the police opened fire on them for hoisting the flag. The book is a “MUST READ” for children to know about the incredible story behind the creation of our national flag and the values that are signified by its design.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 10 and above.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Talking Cub here.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Talking Cub, for review. Thank you to the folks at Talking Cub, for sending across the book!