President Emomali Rahmon yesterday congratulated Tajikistanis on the occasion of the National Flag Day.  In his message, the leader of the country, in particular, noted that the national flag is a symbol of the Tajik people in the international arena.  He noted an important role of youth in strengthening Tajikistan’s positions in the international arena and achieving success in science, culture and sports. 

“The tradition of raising the flag of our nation throughout its millennia-long history embodies the hopes, aspirations, and achievements of our proud people, reflecting both the historical periods of Tajik statehood and the era of independence in the new Tajikistan,” said Emomali Rahmon.  “The images and distinctive features of the Banner of Kova, now represented on the Presidential Standard of Tajikistan as a symbol of the resilience of our national statehood, embody the national mentality, honor, and dignity of the Tajik people as a civilization with an ancient history.”

He further noted that the national flag, in the process of building a new statehood, serves as a visible marker of the nation's sovereignty, a source of pride for its citizens, and a crucial unifying factor for the people to protect the independence and freedom of the Motherland. It inspires every member of society to work selflessly for a stable future.

“Particularly in the complex and unpredictable conditions of today’s world, our National Flag has become a symbol of national identity, loyalty to the Motherland, the defense of its borders, and the safeguarding of the interests of the state and the nation,” said the president.  “Over 33 years of state independence, we have managed under our National Flag to advance the process of building a strong state founded on national values and traditions.”

“We must always instill in our children from an early age that the National Flag symbolizes human glory, national honor, dignity, and the proud bearing of an individual in society,” Emomali Rahmon said.

Tajikistan has celebrated the National Flag Day on November 24 since 2009.  On November 24, 2009, a 1501-meter-long Tajik flag was hung over the Roudaki Avenue, from the former President’s Palace (intersection of Roudaki and Ismoili Somoni avenues) to the Dousti Square.  The flag, 1501 meters in length and 7 meters in breadth, had reportedly been made in Dushanbe’s workshops in one night.  Besides, some 300 students marched through Dushanbe's main street with a 90-meter-long Tajik flag to celebrate the holiday.

On May 24, 2011, residents of Dushanbe were witnesses of the national flag of Tajikistan rising to the top of a 165-meter flagpole.  The flag is 1,800 square meters, measuring 60 by 30 meters.  The flagpole, which was designed and installed by Trident Support, based in San Diego, reportedly cost 3.5 million U.S. dollars and was part of 210 million USD worth of projects celebrating the 20th anniversary of Tajikistan independence.      

Tajikistan was the last of the former Soviet republics to reveal a new flag, which was adopted on November 24, 1992.  The one common link between this and the 1953 Tajik SSR flag is the choice of colors - red, white and green.

The flag of Tajikistan is a tricolor of red, white, and green.  The red represents the unity of the nation as well as victory and sunrise.  The white represents purity, morality, the snow and ice of the mountains, and cotton.  The green represents the bountiful generosity of nature, fertile valleys, the religion of Islam, and the celebration of Navrouz.

Other interpretations of the colors state that the flag symbolically unifies the people of Tajik society, with the red stripe representing the manual labor class, the white stripe representing the intellectual worker class, and the green representing the agricultural class living in Tajikistan's rural or mountainous regions.

While the red and green stripes on the top and bottom are equal in size, the center stripe is one-and-a-half times that of the others.

The crown and stars are set in a rectangle taking up 80% of the white stripe's height. The crown represents the Samanid dynasty and Tajik people, as the name Tajik is connected with Persian tâj "crown" in popular etymology.  The flag of Tajikistan features seven stars due to the significance of the number seven in Tajik traditional legends, representing perfection and happiness.  According to traditional belief, the heavens feature seven mountains and seven orchard gardens with a star shining above each mountain.