The story of preparing the tricolor: From testing to dyeing-cutting of cloth in Gwalior, it takes 5 to 6 days, sewing a tricolor in half an hour

The heart swells and the chest widens with pride to see the national flag waving on the Republic Day. Very few people know that half of the total tricolors that are hoisted across the country are made in Gwalior. In many historical and military buildings and in the ministries, only the flag made in Gwalior is waving.

Here at the Central India Khadi Center, artisans are engaged in preparing flags day and night. The national flag of our country is prepared tricolor only after meeting many standards and criteria. It takes 5 to 6 days for dyeing, printing, cutting and testing of one lot of cloth. After this, half an hour is spent in sewing a flag. It takes five hours to prepare the tricolor.

Half of the total tricolors that are flown across the country are made in Gwalior.

After Mumbai, Karnataka, now Gwalior has made an identity
Until recently, the demand for flags in the country was met from Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Hubli (Karnataka), but now Madhya Bharat Khadi Sangh in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh is giving competition to both the cities. Now only tricolors made in Gwalior are being supplied in the whole of North India. For this, Khadi Sangh has installed new machines. Where flags are made and supplied on the basis of 9 standards after testing in the laboratory. At present, 64 to 65 lakh flags are being prepared annually in Gwalior, whereas before Kovid, 90 lakh to one crore tricolors were prepared here.

From weaving the wire to taking the form of a tricolor, it takes 6 days.
Neelu Maclay, manager and technician of the Khadi Center, says that it takes her team 5 to 6 days to prepare any size of the tricolor. At present, the tricolor is being prepared for January 26 in both the units. Apart from Madhya Pradesh, the tricolors made here are transported to more than a dozen states including Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat. It is a matter of pride that the tricolors made in Gwalior are proudly hoisted on the army buildings located in different cities of the country.

Tricolor is prepared keeping in mind 9 parameters
Gwalior Madhya Bharat Khadi Sangh produces BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certified tricolors of three sizes, which include flags of 2 by 3, 6 by 4, and 3 by 4.5 feet. Standards have to be taken care of for making the national flag, in which the quality of the fabric, the color and the size of the wheel are very important. After that all these things are tested in Khadi Sangh. Keeping in mind the total 9 parameters, our national flags are prepared. In which the weight, quality, Ph value, color, chemical, stitching etc. of the fabric are prominent.

This is how a cloth tricolor is made
Here the work of making the tricolor flag starts with making the thread. After this weaving and then three types of laboratory tests are done. After testing, its finishing and coloring is done. Separate drawing of three colors is also done. After this, there is a re-testing and after that the Ashoka Chakra is applied. Then they take the form of tricolor with khadi cloth, thread and colour.

Journey started from 1925
This center located in Gwalior was established in the year 1925 as Charkha Sangh. In the year 1956, Madhya Bharat Khadi Association got the status of a commission. Many prominent political figures of central India are also associated with this institution. He believes that it is a very difficult task for any Khadi Association to prepare the tricolor, because the government has its own guideline, the tricolor has to be prepared accordingly.

This is the reason that when the tricolors are prepared here, they are closely monitored. After rigorous testing and several rounds of scrutiny, the Madhya Bharat Khadi Association got permission from BIS to manufacture the tricolor in 2016. After which Gwalior has now become the third largest flag manufacturing center of the country.

Tricolor demand reduced in Kovid
After the outbreak of Corona epidemic in the year 2020, there was a lot of impact on the Bharat Khadi Sangh in Gwalior. Due to which the production of Khadi Sangh was reduced by 40 percent. The organization had suffered a loss of about Rs 30 lakh. The turnover of Khadi union unit is about 40 to 50 lakh rupees in a year. There has been a significant drop in turnover due to corona infection, but it is expected that the situation will become normal in the coming time.

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