>Dmitry Brant at 14:32, 5 April 2021

2021-04-05T14:32:30Z

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{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
In India, '''Flag Satyagraha''' ({{lang-mr|झेंडा सत्याग्रह}}) is a campaign of peaceful [[civil disobedience]] during the [[Indian independence movement]] that focused on exercising the right and freedom to hoist the nationalist flag and challenge the legitimacy of the [[British Rule]] in [[India]] through the defiance of laws prohibiting the hoisting of nationalist flags and restricting civil freedoms. Flag Satyagrahas were conducted most notably in the city of [[Jabalpur]] and [[Nagpur]] in 1923 but also in many other parts of India.

==Background==
The hoisting of nationalist flags over private and public buildings (including sometimes government buildings) had been a common nationalist act of defiance, especially with the [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]] and the members of the revolutionary [[Gadar Party]]. Such acts of defiance gained currency across India with the rise of nationalist leaders such, [[Bipin Chandra Pal]] and [[Lala Lajpat Rai]].

The ''Flag Satyagraha'' was a term coined to describe the hoisting of the flag as a defiance against British-imposed restrictions on civil freedom and also the legitimacy of British rule in India altogether. Proliferating during the [[Non-cooperation movement]] (1920-1922) and a prominent element of the [[Salt Satyagraha]] (1930) and the [[Quit India movement]] (1942), this means of revolt combined the hoisting of the nationalist flag with the technique of ''[[Satyagraha]]'' — non-violent civil disobedience — as pioneered by [[Mahatma Gandhi]]. Nationalists were encouraged to violate the law and hoist the flag without resisting arrest or retaliating against police.

==Revolts==
Flag satyagrahas were one of the most common acts of defiance during the nationalist rebellions led by Gandhi and the [[Indian National Congress]] throughout the struggle. The nationalist flag was regularly heralded by large processions and nationalist crowds. On 31 December 1929 the Congress concluded the adoption of the [[Purna Swaraj]] declaration of independence with Congress President [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] hoisting the nationalist flag along the banks of the [[Ravi River]]. The flag was also hoisted at the commencement of the Quit India rebellion on 7 August 1942 at [[Gowalia Tank]] in [[Mumbai]] (then Bombay).

The flag satyagraha of Nagpur and [[Jabalpur]] occurred over several months in 1923. The arrest of nationalist protestors demanding the right to hoist the flag caused an outcry across India especially as Gandhi had recently been arrested. Nationalist leaders such as [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]], [[Jamnalal Bajaj]], [[Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari]], Dr. [[Rajendra Prasad]] and [[Vinoba Bhave]] organised the revolt and thousands of people from different regions including as far south as the Princely state of Travancore<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pathanamthitta.nic.in/history2.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-03-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410023559/http://pathanamthitta.nic.in/History2.htm |archive-date=10 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> traveled to Nagpur and other parts of the [[Central Provinces]] (now in [[Maharashtra]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]]) to participate in civil disobedience. In the end, the British negotiated an agreement with Patel and other Congress leaders permitting the protestors to conduct their march unhindered and obtaining the release of all those arrested.

Other notable flag satyagrahas were organised in [[Mysore]] (now in [[Karnataka]]) in 1938 known as Shivapur Dhwaja Satyagraha. Under leadership of T.Siddalingaih president of Mysore Congress. As a part of state-wide Satyagraha, the flag was hoisted at Vidurashwatha in Kolar district of Mysore state, 33 people were killed in open police firing.

Several commemorations and reenactments of the rebellions have occurred as part of anniversary celebrations, the [[Independence Day (India)|Independence Day]] (15 August) and [[Republic Day of India|Republic Day]] (26 January).

==See also==
{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Mohandas K. Gandhi}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[[Rajmohan Gandhi]]. ''Patel: A Life''. (Navajivan House; 1992)
*[[Arundhati Virmani]]. ''National Symbols Under Colonial Domination: The Nationalization of the Indian Flag, March–August 1923'' (Past and Present Society; 1999)

==External links==
*[http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/flag.html Cultural Politics with the National Flag]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061104041802/http://www.mp.nic.in/aboutState/ MP History]
*[http://pib.nic.in/archive/50yrs/50featr/raja.html Rajaji biography]

[[Category:Indian independence movement]]
[[Category:History of Nagpur]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement in Maharashtra]]

Flag Satyagraha - Revision history

>Dmitry Brant at 14:32, 5 April 2021