Indian Navy New Ensign Unveiled: What’s new? And, What is its significance?

India Navy new ensign: Indian Navy got a new ensign unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday during a ceremony held in Kochi to commission India’s maiden indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. 

Chhatrapati Shivaji inspired new naval flag is shedding a trace of its colonial past on the representational flag of the force that has evolved over the centuries, drawing from symbols of the British rule to the emblem of the Republic.

What is an ensign?

An ensign is essentially a flag bearing a particular design that is carried by vessels or formation of a naval force, indicating its identity and denotes nationality, especially in the high seas.

Indian Navy ensign: Changes made and its significance

The new ensign has dropped the horizontal and vertical red stripes that symbolised the Cross of Saint George, reminiscent of the colonial era, which existed in its previous version. An octagonal shape with twin golden borders in its fly area that draws inspiration from the seal of the Maratha ruler has been incorporated.

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The blue octagonal shape encompasses the National Emblem sitting atop an anchor depicting steadfastness. It is superimposed on a shield with the Navy’s motto “Sam no Varunah”, meaning: ‘Be auspicious unto us Oh Varuna’, according to a video released by Navy.

The octagonal represents the eight directions symbolising the Indian Navy’s multi-directional reach and multi-directional operational capability it said.

The evolution of ‘Nishaan’

From January 26, 1950 until 2001, the Indian Navy used a modified version of the British Naval Ensign. With effect from August 15, 2001, this flag was replaced with a white ensign bearing the Indian Naval Crest, as the previous ensign was thought to reflect India’s colonial past, which remained till 2004, according to the panel on display at the gallery.

From 2004 onwards, the ensign was changed back to the St George’s Cross design, with the addition of the Emblem of India in the intersection of the cross, and in 2014 the national motto — Satyamaev Jayate — in Devanagari script, was added below the emblem, and this ensign was in use until the adoption of the new one on September 2, 2022.