Kolkata4 hours agoAuthor: Tirthankar Das
Every year, India celebrates Independence Day with flags fluttering proudly on streets, balconies, vehicles and in the hands of citizens. For a few hours, the tricolour becomes a symbol of patriotism, pride and freedom.
But what happens when the celebrations end?
The flags distributed during rallies and public events often find their way onto roadsides, drains, bushes, footpaths and dustbins. Once the celebrations fade, thousands of national flags are left behind, dirty, crushed and forgotten. For 39-year-old Priyaranjan Sarkar, however, a discarded national flag is never just another piece of waste.
Physically challenged and speech-impaired, Priyaranjan has turned his personal commitment into a lifelong mission to collect and preserve abandoned national flags, ensuring that the tricolour continues to be treated with dignity and respect.
For years, he has been collecting tricolours abandoned after Independence Day and Republic Day, preserving them at his home and reminding people that patriotism does not end when the celebrations do.
A lesson that began with his mother
Priyaranjan, popularly known as Monu, comes from Bali Nishchinda in West Bengal. He lost his father when he was only three years old. Growing up with a speech impairment, he struggled to get school admission and was also bullied by classmates.
With the support of his mother, however, he overcame those difficulties. Today, he works in the State Irrigation Department and also plays professional football for a local athletic club. His relationship with the national flag began when he was a child.
One day, he saw his mother pick up a tricolour lying on the road. When he asked her why she had done so, she gave him a lesson that stayed with him. She told him that the national flag was like the saree of Bharat Mata and that any flag he found lying on the road should be picked up and protected.
At just nine years old, Monu began doing exactly that.
From a childhood habit to a lifelong mission
What began as a simple act gradually became a personal mission. Every Independence Day and Republic Day, Priyaranjan looks for discarded flags across the streets. He collects those lying in bushes, drains, on pavements, roadsides and even near garbage dumps.
He does not distinguish between a clean flag and one covered in dirt. For him, a national flag remains a national flag regardless of its condition.
After collecting them, he takes the flags home and carefully stores them in a large trunk. Over the years, his collection has grown to an estimated 2.5 lakh national flags. The scale of his collection is remarkable, but perhaps more remarkable is the consistency with which he has continued the effort.
One man, then a community
Priyaranjan’s work did not remain confined to his own neighbourhood. His efforts gradually attracted volunteers from different parts of Bengal. Young people who became aware of his work began collecting discarded flags and handing them over to him. Today, what started as one man’s personal responsibility has evolved into a collective effort.
Priyaranjan usually travels on his bicycle during his collection drives. Whenever he spots the tricolour lying abandoned, he stops, picks it up and takes it home. He says his motivation also comes from the Indian Army.
“If Indian soldiers are willing to die for the honour of the Indian flag, then, as an ordinary citizen, I can at least raise the flag lying on the road,” he says.
Patriotism beyond a single day
Priyaranjan says he has no political affiliation and insists that his work is not connected to any political organisation. His message is simple, celebrating India’s independence should not mean forgetting the national flag once the celebrations are over.
At home, he has a large storage trunk measuring around 20 feet by 15 feet where the collected flags are preserved. He also uses naphthalene balls to protect them from damage. His unusual commitment has not always been understood. He has been called a “madman” and even a “ragpicker” by some.
But he continued. Over time, his persistence convinced others to join him.
Civic responsibility begins after flag hoisting ceremonies end
The tricolour after the celebration. The national flag is protected by laws and regulations governing its display and handling. But beyond legal provisions lies a more fundamental question of civic responsibility. What does it mean to celebrate the flag in the morning and walk past it when it lies in the dust by evening? Priyaranjan’s story raises that uncomfortable question.
A forgotten tricolour still deserves respect always
His work is not about grand speeches, political slogans or ceremonial displays. It is about stopping his bicycle, bending down and picking up something others have chosen to ignore. For him, patriotism is not confined to August 15 or January 26.
It is an everyday act. And perhaps that is what makes Priyaranjan Sarkar’s story worth remembering this Independence Day. The tricolour does not stop deserving respect when the celebration ends. Neither does patriotism.
