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As India's celebrations of 60 years of Independence begin across the country tomorrow, the national flags used on this historic occasion in 1947, including by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, appears to have gone missing.
At the stroke of midnight on August 14, 1947, Prime Minister Nehru had hoisted the first tricolour in the Central Hall of Parliament amid the presence of an august audience including then viceroy, Lord Mountbatten.
The next day a crowd witnessed the lowering of the British flag and the hoisting of the Indian national flag amid thunderous applause at Delhi's India Gate at 8.30 in the morning. The tricolour was also hoisted at Red Fort on the morning of August 16.
However, 60 years down the line no one knows where these flags are. There is no official record available about the
whereabouts of these flags nor is there any move to trace them.
The search at places which could possibly have these historic mementoes drew a blank. The National Museum, Red Fort museum, the National Archives, Nehru Memorial, MEA Toshakahana, the Rashtrapati Bhavan museum and the museum in Parliament do not have the first Independence Day flags unfurled by Nehru.
The Union ministry of culture, which is coordinating the celebrations of the 60th year of Independence and 150 years of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, is also clueless about the first flags of Independent India.
Union Culture Minister Ambika Soni said: "The I-Day functions are handled by the defence ministry and they should trace it. If the flags are traced, then they could be showcased in our museum."
A senior culture ministry official said there was an attempt to trace these flags during the celebration of 50 years of Independence in 1997. The ministry had written to the defence ministry also about tracing the flags. But they could not be found as there was no record available.
Frank Christopher, director, Parliament Archives, said, "We have many mementoes associated with Parliament but not the flag hoisted on the night of August 14. If it can be traced we would like to exhibit it in our archive."
Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Achary said, "No one knows where the tricolour unfurled by Nehru in the Central
Hall is because there is no record of it. We have Nehru's 'Tryst With Destiny' speech in his original voice and Nehru's clay model at our recently opened museum at Parliament. But the historical flag is sadly missing."
PBS Senghar, director, Red Fort Museum, said "This museum was set up in 1985 and though we tried to locate the flag
of 1947, it could not be found."
The keeper at Rashtrapati Bhavan museum, KK Sharma, is also clueless. "We have a flag planted by Sherpa Tenzing on the Everest in 1966 but not the first flags of independence."
Inquiries about the flags at the National Museum, National Archive, Nehru Memorial and the MEA Toshakhana also drew a blank.