Indian Naval Ensign

The Indian Naval Ensign is the flag or standard of the Indian Navy.
It is also referred to as the Indian White Ensign or Nishaan.
It is used by Indian naval vessels, shore establishments and naval air stations as its principal form of maritime identification.

Background

After Independence, on August 15, 1947, the Indian defence forces continued with the British colonial flags and badges.
It was only on Jan 26, 1950, that a changeover to Indianised pattern was made.
However, in the Navy’s flag Union Jack was replaced with the Tricolour, and the George’s Cross was retained.
In 2014, the words ‘Satyamev Jayate’ were included on the flag below the Ashoka emblem in the Devanagri script.
In a bid to do away with the “colonial past”, the Saint George’s Cross has been removed from the Indian Navy’s new flag.

The new naval ensign will replace the ensign that carries the Saint George’s Cross with the Tricolour in the canton (top left corner of the flag).
The national emblem is encompassed by an octagonal shield and sits atop an anchor.
The anchor symbol represents “steadfastness.”
Beneath it is the Navy’s motto ‘Sam No Varunah’ – a Vedic mantra invoking the god of seas to be auspicious.
The golden border surrounding the national emblem draws inspiration from the seal of Indian emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
- His vision to establish a swarajya extended beyond the land borders of his empire and dominated the seas through his forts such as the Sindhudurg, Janjira and others.
The octagonal shape of the national emblem has been designed to represent eight directions, symbolising the multi-directional reach and multi-dimensional operational capability of the Indian Navy.
Ships, Formations, and Establishments of the Indian Navy would be adopting the new Naval ensign.

02 September 2022: Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a new ensign (nishaan) for the Indian Navy during the event to mark the commissioning of INS Vikrant in Kochi.