20 Nov 2012

Daman and Diu (India)

The Daman and Diu territory has a special history in Indian subcontinent. Together with Goa, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, they were part of Portuguese Empire for centuries. Daman and Diu were Portuguese colony for more than 400 years, only being transferred to Indian control in 1961. I once made a flag for Flores (Indonesia) and Ouidah (Benin), with similar histories, and now I continue these series of former Portuguese colonies.

Since now, it's important to distinguish the Indian government flags from the unofficial flags commonly flown. While the government flags are poor (plain white flags with seals or logos, and often writings in English or Native languages), the unofficial flags have much more vexillologic merit. Goa has his own unofficial flag, but neither Daman and Diu nor Dadra and Nagar Haveli have one. Look at this Daman and Diu government ugly flag:

















This flag hasn't even their own seal, but the federal emblem. An improvement is needed urgently.

Some information I kept in mind to create the flag: Daman and Diu are separate enclaves in Gujarat state, and their major languages are Gujarat idiom and Portuguese, being these the basis to local identity. My first attempt was this:

















This flag has obvious references to Portuguese flag: green thinner vertical stripe and use of red. It has also the colors of Indian flag, representing Native heritage: orange, green and white. One star represents Daman; the other, Diu. It's not a bad flag, but I think it's too conventional and the orange and red doesn't match. So I changed the order of colors:

















I think this way the flag became more original. I hope you liked.

Please, leave a comment. It riches the blog.
Note: although some Indian unofficial flags have autonomist or secessionist connotations, I tried to keep neutral on the issue. My point of view is that these flags, purely by aesthetic reason, should replace current government flags.

1 comment:

Every comment is greatly welcome!