Indian navy lowers the ensign and casts off its colonial ties.
By Rahul Bedi in New Delhi
12:01AM BST 24 Aug 2001
THE Indian navy has finally severed its colonial ties 54 years after independence by ditching its English ensign.
The navy has replaced the ensign, based on the red cross of St George with an Indian flag in the top left quadrant, with a new flag.
This also contains the Indian flag, but includes the navy crest of an anchor topped by the three-faced Ashoka lion.
Naval officers said one reason for the extended delay in shedding the colonial symbol was that, for almost a decade after independence, British officers continued to lead the Royal Indian Navy.
A retired officer said: "Once traditions are embraced in the military, they are hard to shed."
The first Indian navy chiefs of staff after independence were Rear-Adml J T S Hall, and Vice-Admls Sir Edward Parry, Sir Mark Pizey and Peter Carlisle, all of whom helped the service find its sea legs in the post-colonial era.
The navy's royal prefix was dropped in 1950, three years after independence, and although the proposal to change its ensign was first mooted in the Seventies, many officers opposed the move on grounds of tradition.
Royal Navy uniforms - bell-bottom trousers, folded seven times to represent the seven seas, the Nelson collar and the peakless cap for the ratings - also remained until the Seventies.
Some British traditions still survive. Several Indian army regiments trace their roots to the era of the East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in their messes, many of which are decorated with artifacts made by English silversmiths.
The National Defence Staff College, in the Niligri mountains of southern India, has an eight-month jackal-hunting season.
Kennels import hounds from England and officers observe a strict sartorial and culinary code, in line with English hunting mores.
Indian navy lowers the ensign and casts off its colonial ties - Telegraph
By Rahul Bedi in New Delhi
12:01AM BST 24 Aug 2001
THE Indian navy has finally severed its colonial ties 54 years after independence by ditching its English ensign.
The navy has replaced the ensign, based on the red cross of St George with an Indian flag in the top left quadrant, with a new flag.
This also contains the Indian flag, but includes the navy crest of an anchor topped by the three-faced Ashoka lion.
Naval officers said one reason for the extended delay in shedding the colonial symbol was that, for almost a decade after independence, British officers continued to lead the Royal Indian Navy.
A retired officer said: "Once traditions are embraced in the military, they are hard to shed."
The first Indian navy chiefs of staff after independence were Rear-Adml J T S Hall, and Vice-Admls Sir Edward Parry, Sir Mark Pizey and Peter Carlisle, all of whom helped the service find its sea legs in the post-colonial era.
The navy's royal prefix was dropped in 1950, three years after independence, and although the proposal to change its ensign was first mooted in the Seventies, many officers opposed the move on grounds of tradition.
Royal Navy uniforms - bell-bottom trousers, folded seven times to represent the seven seas, the Nelson collar and the peakless cap for the ratings - also remained until the Seventies.
Some British traditions still survive. Several Indian army regiments trace their roots to the era of the East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in their messes, many of which are decorated with artifacts made by English silversmiths.
The National Defence Staff College, in the Niligri mountains of southern India, has an eight-month jackal-hunting season.
Kennels import hounds from England and officers observe a strict sartorial and culinary code, in line with English hunting mores.
Indian navy lowers the ensign and casts off its colonial ties - Telegraph
