..read more

Rupees Fifty banknote was first introduced on 16th September 1975. The new note depicted the Parliament Building at New Delhi having a bare Flag-pole, i.e., without the National Flag, on the reverse. Governor S. Jagannathan was the first signatory, followed by K.R. Puri, M. Narsimhan, and I. G. Patel. The Flag omission was rectified in 1980 during the tenure of Governor             I. G. Patel. The National Flag now appears on the Flag-pole over the Parliament House.  The legend Satyameva Jayate, i.e., ‘truth alone shall prevail’, also came to be incorporated under the Ashoka Pillar emblem f ..read more

Flags in Grief:  Flags at Half-Mast, Flag draped Caskets & Funeral Cortege. Flag at Half-Mast or Half-StaffThe origin of the custom of lowering a flag at ‘half-mast’ to indicate mourning is a little unclear. Its observance appears to date back to the sixteenth century, as a custom of the sea, which has spread to the land and became universal. A sailors superstition perhaps, the flag of mourning is flown at half-mast to leave space for death’s imaginary flag to be flown above it.  It is a sign that death has conquered, and that the invisible flag of the death is flying over the lowered co ..read more