Reverence, Resistance and Politics of Seeing the Indian National Flag

Sadan Jha is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Social Studies, Gujarat. His research interests are the history of visuality, the history of symbols and icons, such as the spinning wheel and Bharat Mata, the history of colours, and the contemporary urban experiences of Surat.

'Sadan Jha's book is a pioneering and illuminating history of the Indian national flag, the most important icon of the nation. Jha's critical eye helps the reader see not only the contested nature of this symbol but also some important - and usually neglected - visual aspects of the Indian nationalist movement, thus widening our understanding of the scope of the political in the South Asian context. This book should interest all students of modern South Asian history.' Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago

• List of figures; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Rise of the flag; 2. Flag on the hut: totem and a political symbol; 3. The Indian national flag as a site of daily plebiscite; 4. Shades of history: a case of saffron colour; 5. Visualizing an ideal political order; 6. A post colonial symbol; 7. Gendered symbol, communal politics; Epilogue: the flag as a sacred political symbol; Bibliography; Index.