| Name |
Symbol |
Description |
| National Flag |
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Saffron, white and green, all these three colors are sequentially placed one after the other in the rectangular shaped Indian flags. Three horizontal breadths were used by three different colors. All of these colors signify and symbolize different things. Saffron stands for courage and sacrifices where as white is a symbol of purity. On the other hand, green denotes fertility. Wheel with 24 adjoining spokes corresponds to the Dharma Chakra and is placed right in the middle of the white colored portion. The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947. |
| National bird |
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The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the National Bird of India, is a colourful, swan-sized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green tail of around 200 elongated feathers.
The peacock was declared the National bird of India in 1963, because it was entirely a part of Indian custom and culture. A peacock is a symbol of grace and beauty. Another reason why the peacock was chosen as the National bird was because of its presence across the country, so much so that even common people are familiar with the bird. Moreover, no other country had the peacocok as its national bird either. The peacock fulfilled all these and hence became the national bird of India. |
| National Animal |
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The tiger is known as the Lord of the Jungle and displays India’s wildlife wealth. Also strength, agility and power are the basic aspect of the tiger. The Bengal Tiger was declared as the National Animal of India in April 1973, with the initiation of Project Tiger, to protect the tigers in India. Prior to this, the lion was the National animal of India. |
| National Flower |
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The lotus flower has a very significant position in Indian mythology. It is the flower of goddess Laxmi and symbolizes wealth, prosperity, and fertility. Also, it grows very uniquely in dirty water with its long stalk far above the water, bearing the flower on the top. The lotus flower remains untouched from impurity. It symbolizes purity, achievement, long life, and good fate. |
| National Anthem |
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage,
Tava shubha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he! |
The National Anthem of India is the Hindi version of an anthem which was originally composed in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore. It was adopted as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. Since the Bengali song ‘Vande Mataram’ faced opposition from non-Hindu segments of society, the Jana Gana Mana was adopted as the National Anthem of India. |
| National Fruit |
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Mangoes are native to India and thus truly Indian. Since time immemorial, mangoes have been cultivated in India. In ancient times as well, deliciousness of mangoes have been defined by many renowned poets. The great Moghul emperor Akabar had planted about 100,000 mango trees in Lakhi Bagh in Darbhanga. |
| National Game |
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In spite of cricket’s huge popularity in India, hockey is still the National game of India. Hockey when declared as the National game was very popular. The game has seen a golden era during 1928-1956, when India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics. Hockey was considered as the National game because of its unmatched distinction and incomparable talent at the time. At that time India had played 24 Olympic matches and won all of them. |
| National Song |
Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Vande Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!
Vande Mataram, Vande Mataram! |
India’s national song was composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji. It has inspired many freedom fighters during the freedom struggle. Initially Vande Mantaram was the National Anthem of India, but after independence Jana Gana Mana was adopted as the National Anthem. This was done because non-Hindu communities in India had considered Vande Mataram as biased. These communities felt that the nation was represented by ‘Ma Durga’ in the song. So that is why it was made the National song of India and not the National Anthem. |
| National river |
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Ganga River is one of the prime rivers of India and is declared as the National River of India. It flows east through the Gangetic plains of Northern India into the country of Bangladesh. The river has immense religious significance and considered as the holy river of the Hindus. Historically too the river is important as many important cities and capitals have been located along its banks. The Ganga sustains one of the world's highest densities of population and drains an area of approximately 1000000 sq. kms. The river Ganges flows through India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The major cities along the River Ganges are Haridwar, Moradabad, Rampur, Allahabad, Kanpur, Patna, Varanasi and Rajshahi. The Ganges forms its Delta at the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges travels a distance of 1557 miles beginning from the point of origin till she ultimately merge into the ocean. |
| Emblem |
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The Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath is the National Emblem of India. It consists of four Asiatic Lions standing back to back on a circular abacus. The abacus has sculptures of an elephant, a horse, a bull and a lion. These are separated by wheels in between. The National Emblem stands on a full bloomed inverted lotus flower.
The emblem was actually adopted by the Indian Government with lot of owner on 26th January, 1950. However, the representative and official symbol displays three out of the four lions along with the famous Dharma Chakra right in the center of the base presently. A bull and horse accompany the lions at both the sides. The bright and prominent phrase “Satyameva Jayate” in the Devnagari script of India had been embossed on the base. A powerful and dignified idea (“Truth alone Triumphs”) has been demonstrated for the people of India. |
| National Aquatic Animal |
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The Ganges River dolphin, Platanistagangeticagangetica, commonly known as susu, is one of the only three recognized obligate freshwater dolphins, which inhabit rivers and estuaries in Asia and South America, and all are among the most endangered cetaceans on Earth. The remaining species are the Indus River dolphin, Platanistagangetica minor, common name bhulan of Pakistan, and the Amazon River dolphin, Iniageoffrensis, common name boto of Latin America. The fourth one was the 'baiji' or Chinese river dolphin, Lipotesvexillifer, was declared functionally extinct in 2006 (Turvey et al 2007; Hopkin 2007).The Government of India acted on time and Prime Minister declared the animal as National Aquatic Animal on 5th October 2009 and a formal notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on 10th May 2010. |
| National Tree of India |
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The Banyan tree represents eternal life, because of its ever-expanding branches. The country’s unity is symbolized by the trees huge structure and its deep roots. The tree is also known as Kalpavriksha, which means ‘wish fulfilling tree’. The Banyan tree is called so, because the Banyan tree has immense medicinal properties and is associated with longevity. The Banyan tree also gives shelter to many different kinds of animals and birds, which represent India and its people from different races, religions and castes. |