The 50th Independence Anniversary Medal was issued to commemorate the historic occasion of 50 years of the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. and is authorised for all Armed Forces personnel borne on strength as on 15 August 1997.

Criteria

The medal was issued by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

through a Presidential Notification for all personnel of – a) Armed Forces (the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

and other Reserve Forces, Territorial Army and any other armed forces of the Union), and b) All ranks of the Railway Protection Force, Police Forces, personnel of Central Police Organisations including Para-military Forces, Home Guards, Civil Defence Organisation, Fire Services and any other organisation specified by the Government.

Design

;Medal The medal is circular in shape and made of cupro-nickel. It is 35 mm in diameter and will be fitted to a plain horizontal bar with standard fittings. It shall have embossed on its obverse the

Red Fort The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift hi ...

and the inscriptions ''50th Anniversary of Independence'' and ''1947—1997'' in English along the rim. On its reverse, it shall have the map of the Union of India in a circle with inscriptions ''स्वतंत्रता की स्वर्ण जयंती पदक'' (Golden Jubilee of Independence Medal) and ''1947-1997'' in Hindi along the rim. ;Ribbon The ribbon will be of silk and of a golden colour background of 10 mm each on either side, with stripes of the

National Flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

i.e. Saffron, White and Green stripes of 3 mm width in the centre.

References

External links

{{Indian Military honours and decorations Military awards and decorations of India Awards established in 1997