Indian Navy Flags

Last modified: 2003-06-21 by rob raeside
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• War Ensign
• Rank Flags (2001 series)
• Previous Rank Flags (old series, pre-2001)
• President's Colour of the Indian Navy
• Old War Ensign

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According to the Indian Navy, President Narayanan has approved a new war ensign as well as set of new flags for flag officer in the Indian Navy. The change will come into effect on 15 August 2001.

The changes are set out in a document called Naval ensign, distinguishing flags and pendants. Design & proportion published by the Indian Navy and distributed through its web site. As before, the war ensign consists of a white field with the Indian national flag in the canton, but it now bears the Indian Naval Crest without scroll instead of the old red cross throughout. The Indian Naval Crest consists of the Ashoka emblem, a foul anchor and a shield, and is in navy blue colour. In proportion, the new war ensign of India is 2:3. By replacing the red cross, known as the St. Georges Cross, India breaks with a British naval tradition with respect to war ensigns. Though the Indian war ensign is still a white ensign, it now features the national emblem, the Ashoka emblem with the three lions standing on a platform containing a chakra, a horse and a bull.
Jan Oskar Engene, 6 August 2001

The navy blue Indian Naval Crest is also found in the flags of flag officer's. These are generally speaking 2:3 in the ratio and made up of a white field bordered in navy blue, with the Indian Naval Crest set towards the hoist and a varying number of stars according to rank in the free end:

Admiral of the Fleet

An admiral of the fleet will have five stars (2-1-2).

Admiral

An admiral will have four stars (2-2).

Vice Admiral

A vice admiral will have three stars (1-1-1) .

Rear Admiral

A rear admiral will have two stars (1-1).

Commodore

A commodore's broad pennant is made according to a similar pattern, with the Indian Naval Crest and one star (ratio 1:2), all on a white field bordered in navy blue.

Senior Officer

The Senior Officer's pennant is triangular (ratio 1:2) with a white field bordered in navy blue and bearing the Indian Naval Crest.

Masthead Pennant

Construction details are available in Naval ensign, distinguishing flags and pendants. Design & proportion available from the Indian Navy home page.
Jan Oskar Engene, 6 August 2001

Previous Rank Flags

Admiral

2:3, by Zeljko Heimer

A white flag with a red cross throughout and A blue Chakra (on white "background") in the middle of the cross, almost reaching the white fields. No doubt, a British influence is obvious here, as in many other Indian flags.
Zeljko Heimer, 8 November 2001

Vice-Admiral

2:3, by Zeljko Heimer

As Admiral, defaced with a red ball in canton.
Zeljko Heimer, 8 November 2001

Rear-Admiral

2:3, by Zeljko Heimer

Same as the admiral's flag defaced with two red balls, one in first and one in third quarter.
Zeljko Heimer, 8 November 2001

Commodore

Admiral's flag shaped as swallow-tailed "broad pennant".
Zeljko Heimer, 8 November 2001

Old war ensign

by Zeljko Heimer

War ensign of India: St. George's cross with national flag in canton, ratio 1:2 (from Flagmakers Catalogue).

Zeljko Heimer

In a display of the three service flags in the Defense Planning Staff briefing room, was an Indian Navy white ensign with the fly end truncated to conform the size to the 2:3 dimensions of the other two flags on display. Also, the naval ensign had the wheel (chakhra) on the white stripe of the canton dark gold instead of blue. I have no idea why; the ensign in the lobby of the naval officers' club had a standard blue chakhra.
Joe McMillan, 3 December 2000

In the July issue of the US Naval Institute's Proceedings, there's an article on the Indian Navy, illustrated with a number of photos taken at the Navy's recent Fleet Review. It appears to me that the Indian naval ensign's proportions are 2:3. Also, the overall red cross of the FOTW image looks wider than the ones of the ensigns in the photograph.
Tom Gregg, 15 July 2001

President's Colour of the Indian Navy

by Joe McMillan

From Das (1984), the President's Colour was first presented to the Indian Navy in 1950. It was a 36 x 48 inch (approx. 91 x 122 cm) flag based on the then-naval ensign, white with a St. George's cross and the Indian national flag in the canton. On the center of the cross was the state emblem--the Ashoka lions capital--in gold and in lower fly the elephant emblem from the president's personal standard, as in other Indian President's colours. Das says the elephant was silver fringed with gold thread, but his illustration shows it gold. I suspect he meant to say it was embroidered in silver gilt thread, which would make more sense, especially on a white background, so I've shown it in gold color. This flag presumably will be changed, if it hasn't already been, to conform to the design of the new Indian ensign, which has the naval badge in blue in place of the St. George's cross. I've shown the flag without fringe. I'm not sure whether it has it or not--the Sovereign's colour of the Royal Navy does not, and India might follow that precedent.
Joe McMillan, 27 January 2003

Confirming the gold color, the following is from the prominent Indian newspaper The Hindu, writing on 8 May 1951 about the first presentation of this colour:

"The President's Colour consisted of a white ensign with the State emblem--the Asoka lions--embroidered in gold on the centre. An elephant, which in the President's flag signified strength, was also embroidered in gold in the canton diagonally opposite the one containing the National Flag."

This article appears on line at http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/05/08/stories/10081045.htm
Joe McMillan, 4 February 2003

The photo of the colour dipped in salute to the President of India at the International Fleet Review in 2001 appears to show no fringe. Gold cord and tassels, however. See http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/feb/17ifr25.htm
Joe McMillan, 5 February 2003