PM Modi to unveil new Indian Navy Ensign on September 2, aim to shed 'colonial past'

With an aim to 'do away with the colonial past', PM Modi will unveil a new Indian Navy Ensign on Friday.

Amounting to remnants of colonialism, the Indian Navy's Ensign carries a red cross, as accorded by the British during their rule over India. Shedding the 'Cross of St George', Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to unveil the new Ensign for the Indian Navy.

The Ensign will be unveiled on Friday, September 2. In a press release by the Prime Minister's Office, the statement stated that the decision had been taken to do away with the 'colonial past'. Iterating the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the water defence force is set to don and boast an ingenious, homegrown Ensign.

Currently, the Ensign comprises horizontal and vertical red stripes, which are said to symbolise the Cross of Saint George. At the intersection of the Cross, the Emblem of India is placed while the Tricolour is embedded in the upper left division.

BIG: On Sept 2, PM @NarendraModi to unveil the @IndianNavy’s new ensign, which will shed the red ‘Cross of St George’, a relic of India’s colonial past. Apart from a brief period between 2001-04, the colonial cross has been a fixture in the naval ensign. pic.twitter.com/jqLRdN7ehE

It may be noted that, except for the period between the years 2001 and 2004, the Cross has been the Ensign for the country's water force since the British Raj. A naval Ensign denotes the nationality of a brigade.