Flag of Indonesia

Flag of Indonesia
The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3. It was introduced and hoisted in public during the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 at 56 Proklamasi Street (formerly Pegangsaan Timur Street) in Jakarta, and again when the Dutch formally transferred sovereignty on 27 December 1949. The design of the flag has remained unchanged since.

The flag of Indonesia is graphically similar to the flag of Monaco, with a slight difference in the shade of red, and ratio of its dimensions. The flag of Poland has similar dimensions but has the colours reversed: white on top and red on the bottom. In both, the red is of a slightly darker shade.

The "Naval Jack of Indonesia" is reserved for sole use by the Indonesian Navy. It flies from the jackstaff of every active Indonesian warship while anchored or moored pierside and on special occasions. The design of the jack is described as nine alternating stripes, consisted of five red and four white stripes. It is nicknamed Sang Saka Merah Putih,. The naval jack dates to the age of Majapahit Empire. This empire, renowned for its great maritime strength, flew similar jacks on its vessels.

The flag's colours are derived from the banner of the 13th century Majapahit Empire. However, it has been suggested that the red and white symbolism can trace its origin to the older common Austronesian mythology of the duality of Mother Earth (red) and Father Sky (white). This is why these colours appear in so many flags throughout Austronesia, from Tahiti to Madagascar. The earliest records of the red and white panji or pataka (a long flag on a curved bamboo pole) can be found in the Pararaton chronicle; according to this source, the Jayakatwang troops from Gelang-Gelang hoisted the red and white banner during their invasion of Singhasari in the early 12th century. This suggests that even before the Majapahit era, the red and white colours were already revered and used as the kingdom's banner in the Kediri era (1042-c.1222).

Red and white textile colouring was available in ancient Indonesia. White is the natural colour of woven cotton fabrics, while red is one of the earliest natural dyes, acquired either from teak leaves, the flowers of Averrhoa bilimbi, or the skin of mangosteen fruits.

It was not only the Javanese kingdoms that used red and white. The battle flag of King Sisingamangaraja IX of Batak lands bore an image of white twin swords called piso gaja dompak against a red background. During the Aceh War of 1873–1904, Aceh warriors used a battle flag with the image of a sword, star and crescent, sun, and some Quranic script in white on a red background. The red and white flag of the Buginese Bone kingdom in South Sulawesi is called Woromporang. The Balinese Badung (Puri Pamecutan) royal banner is red, white, and black. During the Java War (1825–1830) Prince Diponegoro also used a red and white banner.

In the early 20th century these colours were revived by students and then nationalists, as an expression of nationalism against the Dutch. The modern red and white flag which was first flown in Java in 1928, was prohibited under Dutch rule. It became the flag adopted by the Kesatuan Melayu Muda to symbolise Malay nationalism against European colonialism. Upon Indonesia's declaration of independence on 17 August 1945 it was adopted as the national flag, and has been in use ever since. After Indonesia's independence was recognized, Monaco, which had a similar flag, filed a complaint which was largely ignored.

National flag
Flag of Indonesia
Country - Indonesia

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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 km2. With around 280 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

As the world's third largest democracy, Indonesia is a presidential republic with an elected legislature. It has 38 provinces, of which nine have special status. The country's capital, Jakarta, is the world's second-most populous urban area. Indonesia shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support one of the world's highest level of biodiversity.
Neighbourhood - Country
  •  Malaysia 
  •  East Timor 
  •  Papua New Guinea