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International Journal for Research Trends and Innovation
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ISSN Approved Journal No: 2456-3315 | Impact factor: 8.14 | ESTD Year: 2016
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| Paper Title: | Constructing the Nation through Symbolic Sovereignty: Sardar Patel and the Flag Satyagraha at Nagpur, 1923 |
| Authors Name: | Utsav Jai Surya Thakur |
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IJRTI_206624
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| Published Paper Id: | IJRTI2510011 |
| Published In: | Volume 10 Issue 10, October-2025 |
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| Abstract: | Abstract This study reinterprets the 1923 Nagpur Flag Satyagraha as Sardar Patel’s foundational experiment in symbolic sovereignty—a deliberate praxis that prefigured the institutionalization of national symbols in postcolonial India. Moving beyond teleological narratives of the flag as mere nationalist iconography, it argues that Patel engineered Nagpur as a crucible to test and refine semiotic strategies for state legitimacy. Through rigorous archival excavation—including colonial criminal proceedings (Case No. 83/1923, Maharashtra State Archives), intelligence assessments dismissing protests as "theatrical nationalism" (Home Political File 18/1923, NAI), and Patel’s coded directives in the Collected Correspondence (Vol. II)—the paper traces how Patel transformed contested public space into a laboratory of governance. His orchestration of mass flag-hoisting rituals (artis), defiance of Section 144 prohibitions, and training of volunteer "symbol guardians" served not only as resistance but as prototypes for future statecraft. Crucially, the analysis demonstrates how Patel inverted colonial semiotics: where the British criminalized the tricolour as "seditious spectacle" (Bombay Chronicle, Sept 1923), he sacralized it as an inviolable embodiment of popular sovereignty ("A flag is a nation’s soul," Nagpur speech, 1923). This dialectic directly informed post-1947 policy, as evidenced by Ministry of Home Affairs archives. Patel’s 1950 circulars institutionalized Nagpur’s legacy—codifying flag protocols (MHA Circular 55D/1950), establishing district-level protection squads echoing Nagpur’s volunteer corps, and embedding reverence through constitutional penalties (Prevention of Insults Act, 1971). The study thus reveals a strategic continuum: Nagpur’s spatial defiance (occupying Idgah Maidan) evolved into the state’s territorial symbolism; its ritual discipline (prabhat pheris) became bureaucratized national ceremonies. By situating Nagpur within Patel’s broader "satyagraha-to-statecraft" trajectory, the paper challenges fragmented historiographies that isolate his symbolic interventions from administrative praxis. It contends that Patel’s genius lay in recognizing symbols not as decorative allegories, but as operational tools for consolidating a fractured nation—making Nagpur indispensable to understanding the decolonial remaking of Indian sovereignty. . |
| Keywords: | Keywords: Sardar Patel, Nagpur Flag Satyagraha (1923), symbolic sovereignty, semiotic statecraft, decolonial transition, national symbols, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), flag protocol, Indian nationalism, archival praxis, Sardar Patel Correspondence, NAI Files, postcolonial state formation, ritual and governance, spatial defiance |
| Cite Article: | "Constructing the Nation through Symbolic Sovereignty: Sardar Patel and the Flag Satyagraha at Nagpur, 1923", International Journal for Research Trends and Innovation (www.ijrti.org), ISSN:2456-3315, Vol.10, Issue 10, page no.a121-a127, October-2025, Available :http://www.ijrti.org/papers/IJRTI2510011.pdf |
| Downloads: | 000406 |
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2456-3315 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.14 Calculated By Google Scholar| ESTD YEAR: 2016 An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 8.14 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator |
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Published Paper ID: IJRTI2510011
Registration ID:206624
Published In: Volume 10 Issue 10, October-2025
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
Page No: a121-a127 Country: hamirpur, himachal pradesh, India Research Area: Other Publisher : IJ Publication Published Paper URL : https://www.ijrti.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJRTI2510011 Published Paper PDF: https://www.ijrti.org/papers/IJRTI2510011 |
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ISSN: 2456-3315
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