As the country prepares for the 77th Independence Day celebrations, the State government is refurbishing the rampart and the flagpole in Fort St. George. Officials said they were strengthening the rampart and the 148-feet flagpole, one of the tallest in the country. “It was the tallest in the country at the time of Independence,” said V. Sriram, historian of Chennai.
The fort was named after St. George since it was the first factory within the fortified enclosure completed on April 23, 1640, on St. George’s Day. It was the East India Company’s principal settlement until 1774, when Calcutta was declared to be the seat of the government.
The national flag was hoisted by Governors till 1974. It was former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, a strong advocate of State autonomy, who persuaded the Centre to grant the right to hoist the flag to Chief Ministers.
