The Flag

by M. Lakshmanan (Ed.)

'The Flag' records the astonishing - and everyday - moments of the Indian tricoloured flag. The book is a part of Tara’s India Visual series, which contains collections of photography by remarkable yet largely unknown photographers from villages, towns and cities across India.

Ranging from its use as a bodily ornament to an item of trade by the poor, the flag has a host of meanings, each with a distinctive claim on the Indian nation. Bearing witness to these claims, this book is a powerful yet accessible visual essay on identity and citizenship, national pride and political indifference.

Featuring thirty photographers from across India, The Flag contemplates the Indian tricolor in all its human moments of glory and poignancy. With deceptive simplicity as each page turns, the book starts to unfold into a complex tale of the rituals of citizenship and patriotism.