The Tricolour

Saffron, white and green with a navy-blue Ashoka Chakra of 24 spokes. The Constituent Assembly adopted it on 22 July 1947.

Jana Gana Mana

The national anthem, written by Rabindranath Tagore and adopted on 24 January 1950. It takes about 52 seconds to play.

Vande Mataram

The national song, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay for his novel Anandamath. It was given equal honour with the anthem in 1950.

The State Emblem

Adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath. It was adopted on 26 January 1950, with only three of the four lions visible.

Satyameva Jayate

"Truth alone triumphs". The motto is from the Mundaka Upanishad and is written below the emblem in Devanagari script.

Tiger and peacock

The Bengal tiger is the national animal, chosen in 1973 in place of the lion. The Indian peafowl is the national bird.

Lotus, banyan and mango

The lotus is the national flower, the banyan the national tree and the mango the national fruit.

Ganga and the river dolphin

The Ganga was declared the national river in 2008. The Ganges river dolphin is the national aquatic animal.

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