India, Aug. 15 -- On August 15, as India marks its 80th Independence Day, millions of homes, offices, schools and street corners once again are awashed in saffron, white and green. The fifth edition of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, running this year from August 9 to 17 under the theme "Spirit of Vande Mataram", has pushed the tricolour further into the everyday fabric of the country than ever before, with organisers this year hoping to see the flag in more than five crore homes.

But the coverage of this Independence Day, across several publications, has converged on a quieter and less celebratory theme: what happens to the flag once the bunting comes down.

A recurring warning, every August

It is telling that almost every major outlet ...