Saturday 14 May 2016

Maldives Flag History Today

By Eugine Seabass


The history of the Maldives is that of a small, isolated and peaceful nation constantly trying to contain the desires of its powerful neighbors and would-be colonizers. It's also an incredibly hazy history for the most part - of which little before the conversion to Islam in 1153 is known. Indeed, the pre-Muslim period is full of heroic myths, mixed with conjecture based on inconclusive archeological discoveries.

Maldives gained independence in 1965. The British, who had been Maldives' last colonial power, continued to maintain an air base on the island of Gan in the southernmost atoll until 1976. The British departure in 1976 almost immediately triggered foreign speculation about the future of the air base; the Soviet Union requested use of the base, but Maldives refused.

The flag of Maldives has a distinct history of its own. Originally the country had a plain red flag to which black and white bands were added later on. These stripes were placed in the hoist. Prime Minister Amir Abdul Majid Didi added the green panel and the crescent to the flag in the early part of the present century. Till 1949, the crescent in the flag would point towards the flag's hoist. The Maldives Flag has a green colored background, which is surrounded by a bright red panel. The flag has a crescent in the center of the green area.

The Maldives flag was adopted on July 25, 1963. The flag of Maldives was originally a plain red flag. Up until 1949, the crescent pointed towards the left. The country gained independence from Britain on July 16, 1965. The flag of Maldives consists of a red background with a green rectangle in the middle of it. In the middle of the rectangle, there is a white crescent pointing towards the right side of the Maldives flag.

This continued to be the flag of Maldives till independence in 1965. Three years after independence, the country adopted this as the National Flag of Maldives. The country also has a separate Presidential flag. The Presidential Flag is similar to the national flag. The only difference is that it also has a star beside the crescent.

When the sultanate reign was reinstated in 1954, the flag was not altered back but Muhammad Fareed Didi, the last sultan of Maldives made the flag particularly for the sultan and today; this design of the flag is still the Presidential Standard. In 1965, Maldives became independent and the striped hoist was eliminated and this is the current flag used by the country. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of Maldives Flag for the future.




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