New Delhi

More than five crore Tiranga selfies have been uploaded on the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign website so far, the Ministry of Culture informed on Monday and termed it a "stupendous achievement".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a call on July 22, 2022, to join the Har Ghar Tiranga' movement by hoisting or displaying the national flag at homes.

"In a stupendous achievement, more than five crore 'Tiranga' selfies have been uploaded on the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' website," the ministry said in a statement. As India embarks on its 76th year of Independence, wrapping up the 75-week countdown to August 15, 2022, was the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' initiative of the government driven by the nodal ministry for 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' the Ministry of Culture.

The achievement of 5 crore Tiranga selfies has been achieved this afternoon at around 4 pm thanks to the participation of everyone across India and the world celebrating this special moment in India's history. The commemoration of 75 years of independence started on 12 March 2021 as a 75-week countdown to 15th August, 2022 and will continue till 15 August, 2023. The achievement of five crore 'Tiranga' selfies has been achieved on Monday afternoon at around 4 pm. "Thanks to the participation of everyone across India and the world celebrating this special moment in India's history," it said.

The commemoration of 75 years of independence started on March 12, 2021, as a 75-week countdown to August 15, 2022, and will continue till August 15, 2023. "The initiative dedicated to fostering deeper personal connect with the Tiranga requested Indians everywhere to display the flag at home or their place of work as a commitment to the cause of nation building during Amrit Kaal (25 years from now to India at 2047)," it said.

The ministry said that the programme conceived in a hybrid format envisaged a physical and emotional connect with the flag itself in the personal context and also envisaged a collective celebration and amplification of patriotic fervour through the act of uploading a selfie on the special website (www.harghartiranga.com) created for this initiative. Earlier in the morning in his Independence Day speech Prime Minister had remarked that in the last few days, we saw and experienced a new force that was the renaissance of collective conscience and the revival of this collective conscience is the biggest treasure of the country and is like nectar that emerged through the years of the struggle for freedom.

Reflecting on the milestone, Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy said, "5 crores Tiranga selfies reflect the collective commitment of duty-bound Indians to keep the Nation first and always first. "Thank you, India. This is indeed a special moment of outpouring of the collective expressions of love and connect for the motherland. I wish everyone a very Happy Independence Day!" he added. He also indicated that as a buzz creation activity, the website also allowed people to digitally 'pin a flag' at a location based on their IP. This feature saw a huge draw with pan India and global participation crossing 5 crore plus pins.

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Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech to the nation also said "I urge the youth to dedicate the next 25 years of their lives to the development of the nation. We will work towards the development of the entire humanity. That is the strength of India."5 crore selfies with the flag is a testimony to five crore promises to keep India at the top and to make India the supreme nation. 'Har Ghar Tiranga' is a campaign under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India's independence.

The 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign ended on August 15. The programme envisages inspiring Indians everywhere to hoist the national flag at their homes. The aim of the programme was to make the relationship with the national flag a more personal one rather than just keeping it formal or institutional. The idea behind the initiative was to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and promote awareness about the tricolour.

Earlier, Indian citizens were not allowed to hoist the National Flag except on selected occasions. This changed after a decade-long legal battle by industrialist Naveen Jindal culminated in the landmark Supreme Court judgement of January 23, 2004, that declared that the right to fly the National Flag freely with respect and dignity is a fundamental right of an Indian citizen within the meaning of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India. Lauding the Centre and PM Modi for the Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign, Naveen Jindal has urged every Indian to make 'Har Din Tiranga' their motto.