title: Michelle Obama

text: Robinson recalls that some of her teachers in high school tried to dissuade her from applying, and that she had been warned against "setting my sights too high". She believed her brother's status as an alumnushe graduated in 1983, before being hired as a basketball coach at Oregon State University and Brown Universitymay have helped her during the admission process, but she was resolved to demonstrate her own worth. She has said she was overwhelmed during her first year, attributing this to the fact that neither of her parents had graduated from college, and that she had never spent time on a college campus.


title: Michelle Obama

text: The mother of a white roommate reportedly tried to get her daughter reassigned because of Michelle's race. Robinson said being at Princeton was the first time she became more aware of her ethnicity and, despite the willingness of her classmates and teachers to reach out to her, she still felt "like a visitor on campus". There were also issues of economic class. "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs."


title: Michelle Obama

text: While at Princeton, Robinson became involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group who supported minority students. She ran their daycare center, which also offered after school tutoring for older children. She challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a sociology thesis, entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community". She researched her thesis by sending a questionnaire to African-American graduates, asking that they specify when and how comfortable they were with their race prior to their enrollment at Princeton and how they felt about it when they were a student and since then. Of the 400 alumni to whom she sent the survey, fewer than 90 responded. Her findings did not support her hope that the black alumni would still identify with the African-American community, even though they had attended an elite university and had the advantages that accrue to its graduates.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Robinson pursued professional study, earning her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. By the time she applied for Harvard Law, biographer Bond wrote, her confidence had increased: "This time around, there was no doubt in her mind that she had earned her place". Her faculty mentor at Harvard Law was Charles Ogletree, who has said she had answered the question that had plagued her throughout Princeton by the time she arrived at Harvard Law: whether she would remain the product of her parents or keep the identity she had acquired at Princeton; she had concluded she could be "both brilliant and black".


title: Michelle Obama

text: At Harvard, Robinson participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minority groups. She worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases. She is the third first lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. She later said her education gave her opportunities beyond what she had ever imagined.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Michelle's mother Marian Robinson, was a stay-at-home mother. Her father was Fraser C. Robinson III, who worked at the city's water purification plant. Robinson's father, Fraser, died from complications from his illness in March 1991. She would later say that although he was the "hole in my heart" and "loss in my scar", the memory of her father has motivated her each day since. Her friend Suzanne Alele died from cancer around this time as well. These losses made her think of her contributions toward society and how well she was influencing the world from her law firm, in her first job after law school. She considered this a turning point.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Robinson met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin LLP (she has sometimes said "only" two, although others have noted that there were others in different departments). She was assigned to mentor him while he was a summer associate. Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Before meeting Obama, Michelle had told her mother she intended to focus solely on her career. The couple's first date was to Spike Lee's movie "Do the Right Thing" (1989). Barack Obama has said the couple had an "opposites attract" scenario in their initial interest in each other, since Michelle had stability from her two-parent home while he was "adventurous". They married on October 3, 1992. After suffering a miscarriage, Michelle underwent in vitro fertilisation to conceive their daughters Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001).


title: Michelle Obama

text: The Obama family lived on Chicago's South Side, where Barack taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He was elected to the state senate in 1996, and to the US Senate in 2004. They chose to keep their residence in Chicago after Barack's election rather than to move to Washington, DC, as they felt it was better for their daughters. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for US President, Michelle Obama made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a weekto campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two daughters.


title: Michelle Obama

text: She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move; Jarrett became one of her husband's closest advisors. The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, "", that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance." Despite their family obligations and careers, they continued to try to schedule "date nights" while they lived in Chicago.


title: Michelle Obama

text: The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school. As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school to increase enrollment. In Washington, DC, Malia and Sasha attended Sidwell Friends School, after also considering Georgetown Day School. In 2008, Michelle said in an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that they did not intend to have any more children. The Obamas received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Clinton about raising children in the White House. Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, moved in to the White House to assist with child care.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Michelle Obama was raised United Methodist and joined the Trinity United Church of Christ, a mostly black congregation of the Reformed denomination known as the United Church of Christ. She and Barack Obama were married there by Rev. Jeremiah Wright. On May 31, 2008, Barack and Michelle Obama announced that they had withdrawn their membership in Trinity United Church of Christ saying: "Our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own views."


title: Michelle Obama

text: The Obama family attended several different Protestant churches after moving to Washington D.C. in 2009, including Shiloh Baptist Church and St. John's Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square, known as the Presidents' Church. At the 49th African Methodist Episcopal Church's general conference, Michelle Obama encouraged the attendees to advocate for political awareness, saying, "To anyone who says that church is no place to talk about these issues, you tell them there is no place betterno place better, because ultimately, these are not just political issuesthey are moral issues, they're issues that have to do with human dignity and human potential, and the future we want for our kids and our grandkids."


title: Michelle Obama

text: Following law school, Obama became an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband Barack. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property law. She continues to hold her law license, but as she no longer needs it for her work, she has kept it on a voluntary inactive status since 1993.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became executive director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood twelve years after she had left. Obama later said she had never been happier in her life prior to working "to build Public Allies".


title: Michelle Obama

text: In 1996, Obama served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the university's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as vice president for Community and External Affairs.


title: Michelle Obama

text: She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign of 2008, but cut back to part-time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election. She subsequently took a leave of absence from her job.


title: Michelle Obama

text: According to the couple's 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (), a major Wal-Mart supplier from shortly after her husband was seated in the Senate until she cut ties shortly after her husband announced his candidacy for the presidency; he criticized Wal-Mart labor policies at an AFL–CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In 2021, the former first lady announced that she has been "moving toward retirement". Though she continues to be active in political campaigns, the former first lady has said she is reducing the amount of work to spend more time with her husband.


title: Michelle Obama

text: During an interview in 1996, Michelle Obama acknowledged there was a "strong possibility" her husband would begin a political career, but said she was "wary" of the process. She knew it meant their lives would be subject to scrutiny and she was intensely private.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Although she campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for United States House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas. Obama opposed her husband's run for the congressional seat, and, after his defeat, she preferred he tend to the financial needs of the family in what she deemed a more practical way.


title: Michelle Obama

text: At first, Obama had reservations about her husband's presidential campaign, due to fears about a possible negative effect on their daughters. She says she negotiated an agreement in which her husband was to quit smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run. About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser". During the campaign, she discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, Obama reduced her professional responsibilities by 80 percent to support his presidential campaign. Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and rarely traveled overnight; by early February 2008 her participation had increased significantly. She attended thirty-three events in eight days. She made several campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey. She wrote her own stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign and generally spoke without notes.


title: Michelle Obama

text: During the campaign, columnist Cal Thomas on Fox News described Michelle Obama as an "Angry Black Woman" and some web sites attempted to promote this image. Obama said: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you're out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory."


title: Michelle Obama

text: By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed that her presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows such as "The View" and publications like "Ladies' Home Journal" rather than appearing on news programs. The change was reflected in her fashion choices, as she wore clothes that were more informal clothes than her earlier designer pieces. Partly intended to help soften her public image, her appearance on "The View" was widely covered in the press.


title: Michelle Obama

text: The presidential campaign was Obama's first exposure to the national political scene; she was considered the least famous of the candidates' spouses. Early in the campaign, she told anecdotes about Obama family life; however, as the press began to emphasize her sarcasm, she toned it down.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Craig Robinson introduced his younger sister. She delivered her speech, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream. Obama said she and her husband believe "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them." She also emphasized loving her country, likely responding to criticism for having said that she felt "proud of her country for the first time". The first statement was seen as a gaffe. Her keynote address was largely well-received and drew mostly positive reviews. A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%, the highest for her.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On an October 6, 2008, broadcast, Larry King asked Obama if the American electorate was past the Bradley effect. She said her husband's winning the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it was. The same night she was interviewed by Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show", where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign. On Fox News' "America's Pulse", E. D. Hill referred to the fist bump shared by the Obamas the night he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, describing it as a "terrorist fist jab". Hill was taken off air and the show was canceled.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama campaigned for her husband's re-election in 2012. Beginning in 2011, Obama became more politically active than she had been since the 2008 election, though avoided discussions about the re-election bid. By the time of the election cycle, she had developed a more open public image. Some commentators viewed her as the most popular member of the Obama administration, noting that her poll approval numbers had not dropped below 60% since she entered the White House. An Obama senior campaign official said she was "the most popular political figure in America". The positive assessment was reasoned to have contributed to her active role in the re-election campaign, but it was noted that the challenge for the Obama campaign was to use her without tarnishing her popularity.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama was considered a polarizing figure, having aroused both "sharp enmity and deep loyalty" from Americans, but she was also seen as having improved her image since 2008 when her husband first ran for the presidency. Isabel Wilkinson of "The Daily Beast" said Obama's fashion style changed over the course of the campaign to be sensitive and economical.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Prior to the first debate of the election cycle, Obama expressed confidence in her husband's debating skills. He was later criticized for appearing detached and for looking down when addressing Romney. Consensus among uncommitted voters was that the latter had won the debate. After Obama's speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the first lady was found through a CBS News/"New York Times" poll conducted in September to have a 61% favorably rating with registered voters, the highest percentage she had polled since April 2009.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama aimed to humanize her husband by relating stories about him, attempting to appeal to female voters in swing states. Paul Harris of "The Guardian" said the same tactic was being used by Ann Romney, wife of 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Polls in October showed their husbands tied at 47% for the female vote. However, Michelle Obama's favorability ratings remained higher than Ann Romney's at 69% to 52%. Despite Obama's higher poll numbers, comparisons between Obama and Romney were repeatedly made by the media until the election. But, as Michelle Cottle of "Newsweek" wrote, "...nobody votes for first lady."


title: Michelle Obama

text: During her early months as First Lady, Obama visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens. She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama advocated for her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. She hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 Pay equity law. She supported the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others said she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intended to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her then chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris became a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Another key aide, Spelman College alumna Kristen Jarvis, served from 2008 until 2015, when she left to become chief of staff to the Ford Foundation president Darren Walker.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In 2009, Obama was named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of the year. In her memoir, "Becoming", Obama describes her four primary initiatives as First Lady: Let's Move!, Reach Higher, Let Girls Learn, and Joining Forces. Some initiatives of First Lady Michelle Obama included advocating on behalf of military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, and promoting the arts and arts education. Obama made supporting military families and spouses a personal mission and increasingly bonded with military families. According to her aides, stories of the sacrifice these families make moved her to tears. In April 2012, Obama and her husband were awarded the Jerald Washington Memorial Founders' Award by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV). The award is the highest honor given to homeless veteran advocates.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In November 2013, a "Politico" article by Michelle Cottle accusing Obama of being a "feminist nightmare" for not using her position and education to advocate for women's issues was sharply criticized across the political spectrum. Cottle quoted Linda Hirshman saying of Obama's trendy styles, promotion of gardening and healthy eating, and support of military families that "She essentially became the English lady of the manor, Tory Party, circa 1830s." A prominent critic of Cottle was MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry, who rhetorically asked "Are you serious?" Supporters of Obama note that the first lady had been one of the only people in the administration to address obesity, through promoting good eating habits, which is one of the leading U.S. public health crises.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In May 2014, Obama joined the campaign to bring back school girls who had been kidnapped in Nigeria. The first lady tweeted a picture of herself holding a poster with the #bringbackourgirls campaign hashtag. Obama writes in her book about enlisting help for her initiative Let Girls Learn to produce and sing the song "This is for My Girls".


title: Michelle Obama

text: Over the course of the Obama presidency, particularly during the second term, Michelle Obama was subject to speculation over whether she would run for the presidency herself, similarly to predecessor Hillary Clinton. A May 2015 Rasmussen poll found Obama had 22% of support to Clinton's 56% of winning the Democratic nomination, higher than that of potential candidates Elizabeth Warren, Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders. Another poll that month found that 71% of Americans believed Obama should not run for the presidency, only 14% approving. On January 14, 2016, during a town-hall meeting, President Obama was asked if the first lady could be talked into running. He responded, "There are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes, and Michelle is not running for president. That I can tell you." On March 16, 2016, while speaking in Austin, Texas, Obama denied that she would ever run for the office, citing a desire to "impact as many people as possible in an unbiased way". In the epilogue to "Becoming", Obama writes, "I have no intention of running for office, ever," recognizing that "politics can be a means for positive change, but this arena is just not for me."


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama's predecessors Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food. Obama extended their support of healthy eating by planting the White House Kitchen Garden, an organic garden, the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady. She also had bee hives installed on the South Lawn of the White House. The garden supplied organic produce and honey for the meals of the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In January 2010, Obama undertook her first lead role in an administration-wide initiative, which she named ""Let's Move!"", to make progress in reversing the 21st-century trend of childhood obesity. On February 9, 2010, the first lady announced "Let's Move!" and President Barack Obama created the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to review all current programs and create a national plan for change.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Michelle Obama said her goal was to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, 'Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.' And my hope is that that's going to be in the area of childhood obesity." Her 2012 book "" is based on her experiences with the garden and promotes healthy eating. Her call for action on healthy eating was repeated by the United States Department of Defense, which has been facing an ever-expanding problem of obesity among recruits.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Several Republicans have critiqued or lampooned Obama's initiative. In October 2014, senator Rand Paul linked to Michelle Obama's Twitter account when announcing on the website that he was going to Dunkin' Donuts.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In January 2016, Chris Christie, Republican Governor of New Jersey and presidential candidate, criticized the first lady's involvement with healthy eating while he was campaigning in Iowa, arguing that she was using the government to exercise her views on eating. Obama had previously cited Christie as an example of an adult who struggled with obesity, a demographic she sought to diminish by targeting children since "Let's Move!" was "working with kids when they're young, so that they don't have these direct challenges when they get older." In February, Senator Ted Cruz said he would end Obama's health policies and return french fries to school cafeterias if his wife was First Lady.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In the 2008 US presidential campaign, Obama boasted to gay Democratic groups of her husband's record on LGBT rights: his support of the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois gender violence act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, and full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, civil unions; along with hate crimes protection for sexual orientation and gender identity and renewed effort to fight HIV and AIDS. They have both opposed amendments proposed to ban same-sex marriage in the federal, California, and Florida constitutions. She said the US Supreme Court delivered justice in the "Lawrence v. Texas" case and drew a connection between the struggles for gay rights and civil rights by saying, "We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall, in the pursuit of a more perfect union."


title: Michelle Obama

text: After the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell on September 20, 2011, Obama included openly gay service members in her national military families initiative. On May 9, 2012, Barack and Michelle Obama came out publicly in favor of same-sex marriage. Prior to this, Michelle Obama had never publicly stated her position on this issue. Senior White House officials said Michelle Obama and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett had been the two most consistent advocates for same-sex marriage in Barack Obama's life. Michelle said:


title: Michelle Obama

text: This is an important issue for millions of Americans, and for Barack and me, it really comes down to the values of fairness and equality we want to pass down to our girls. These are basic values that kids learn at a very young age and that we encourage them to apply in all areas of their lives. And in a country where we teach our children that everyone is equal under the law, discriminating against same-sex couples just isn't right. It's as simple as that.


title: Michelle Obama

text: At the 2012 DNC, Michelle said, "Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it... and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we're from, or what we look like, or who we love."


title: Michelle Obama

text: In May 2009, Obama delivered the commencement speech at a graduating ceremony at UC Merced in Merced County, California, the address being praised afterward by students who found her relatable. Kevin Fagan of the "San Francisco Chronicle" wrote that there was chemistry between Obama and the students.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In August 2013, Obama attended the 50th anniversary ceremony for the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. Positive attention was brought to Obama's attire, a black sleeveless dress with red flowers, designed by Tracy Reese. Reese reacted by releasing a public statement that she was honored the first lady "would choose to wear one of our designs during the celebration of such a deeply significant historical moment".


title: Michelle Obama

text: In March 2015, Obama traveled to Selma, Alabama, with her family to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. After President Obama's remarks there, the Obamas joined original marchers, including John Lewis, in crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In July 2015, Obama journeyed to Coachella Valley while coming to Los Angeles for that year's Special Olympics World Games.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In October 2015, Obama was joined by Jill Biden and Prince Harry in visiting a military base in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in an attempt on the prince's part to raise awareness to programs supporting harmed service members. In December 2015, Obama traveled with her husband to San Bernardino, California, to meet with families of the victims of a terrorist attack that occurred two weeks earlier.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On April 1, 2009, Obama met with Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace. Obama embraced her before attending an event with world leaders. Obama praised her, though the hug generated controversy for being out of protocol when greeting Elizabeth.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In April 2010, Obama traveled to Mexico, her first solo visit to a nation. In Mexico, Obama spoke to students, encouraging them to take responsibility for their futures. Referring to the underprivileged children, Obama argued that "potential can be found in some of the most unlikely places," citing herself and her husband as examples.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama traveled to Africa for the second official trip in June 2011, touring Johannesburg, Cape Town and Botswana and meeting with Graça Machel. Obama was also involved with community events in the foreign countries. It was commented by White House staff that her trip to Africa would advance the foreign policy of her husband.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In March 2014, Obama visited China along with her two daughters Malia and Sasha, and her mother Marian Robinson. She met with Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese president Xi Jinping, visited historic and cultural sites, as well as a university and two high schools. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the visit and intent in Obama journeying there was to symbolize "the relationship between the United States and China is not just between leaders, it's a relationship between peoples."


title: Michelle Obama

text: In January 2015, Obama traveled to Saudi Arabia alongside her husband, following the death of King Abdullah. She received criticism for not covering her head in a nation where women are forbidden from publicly not doing so, though Obama was defended for being a foreigner and thus not having to submit to Saudi Arabia's customs, even being praised in some corners. Obama was neither greeted nor acknowledged by King Salman during the encounter.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In June 2015, Obama undertook a weeklong trip to London and three Italian cities. In London, she spoke with students about international education for adolescent girls and met with both British prime minister David Cameron and Prince Harry. She was joined by her two daughters and mother. In November, she spent a week in Qatar, her first official visit to the Middle East. She continued advancing her initiative for international education for women by speaking at the 2015 World Innovation Summit for Education for her "Let Girls Learn" initiative in Doha, Qatar, and touring a school in Amman, Jordan, where she met with female students. During the Qatar trip, Obama had intended to visit Jordan as well, but the trip was canceled due to weather conditions. In Jordan, Obama had intended to visit an Amman school, which had been constructed with assistance from U.S. funds.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In March 2016, Obama accompanied her husband and children to Cuba in a trip that was seen by the administration as having the possibility of positively impacting relations between the country and America. Later that month, the first couple and their daughters traveled to Argentina, meeting with Argentine president Mauricio Macri.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama campaigned for Democratic candidates in the 2010 midterm elections, making her debut on the campaign trail in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


title: Michelle Obama

text: By the time she began campaigning, Obama's approval rating was 20 percentage points higher than her husband's.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Though Obama indicated in January 2010 that a consensus had not been made about whether she would campaign, speculation of her involvement came from her large approval rating as well as reports that she had been invited to speak at events with Democrats such as Barbara Boxer, Mary Jo Kilroy and Joe Sestak.


title: Michelle Obama

text: She toured seven states in two weeks within October 2010. Aides reported that, though viewed as essential by the White House, she would not become deeply involved with political discussions nor engage Republicans in public disputes. After the elections, only six of the thirteen Democratic candidates Obama had campaigned for won. The "Los Angeles Times" concluded that while Obama was indeed more popular than her husband, her "election scorecard proved no better than his, particularly in her home state".


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama was a participant in the 2014 midterm elections, held at a time where her popularity superseded her husband's to such an extent that it was theorized she would receive a much larger outpour of support in campaigning. Reporting her travel to Denver, Colorado, David Lightman wrote that while Democrats did not want President Obama to campaign for them, "the first lady is very popular." In May 2014, Obama was found to have a 61% favorable approval rating from a CNN poll, her husband coming in at 43%. In a video released in July, as part of an effort to encourage voter turnout, she called on voters to be "hungry as you were back in 2008 and 2012". Obama appeared at a fundraiser in Georgia in September for Democratic senate candidate Michelle Nunn. Obama's approach to campaigning in Georgia strayed from discussing current events and instead broadly stressed the importance of registering to vote and turning out during the elections. Obama's infrequent appearances came from her dislike of being away from her children and Washington politics as well as her distaste for the opposition by Republicans to her husband's agenda and her view that Democrats in the U.S. Senate had not sufficiently been supporters of her initiatives to end childhood obesity. Obama raised her profile in October, touring three states in four days. Obama called the elections her husband's "last campaign".


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and made several high-profile speeches in favor of her, including an address at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. She also appeared multiple times on the campaign trail in either solo or joint appearances with Clinton. On October 13, 2016, Obama heavily criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for the statements he made in a 2005 audio recording while at a Clinton rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. A week later, Trump attempted to revive past comments Obama made in regards to Clinton during the 2008 presidential election.


title: Michelle Obama

text: With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Obama became a part of popular culture. In May 2006, "Essence" listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women". In July 2007, "Vanity Fair" listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People". She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the "Legends" who helped pave the way for African-American women. In September 2007, "02138" magazine listed her 58th of "The Harvard 100"; a list of the prior year's most influential . Her husband was ranked fourth. In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the "Vanity Fair" international best dressed list. She also appeared on the 2008 "People" list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.


title: Michelle Obama

text: At the time of her husband's election, some sources anticipated that as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage Obama would be a positive role model who would influence the view the world has of African Americans. Her fashion choices were part of the 2009 Fashion week, but Obama's influence in the field did not have the impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, that some thought it might.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama's public support grew in her early months as First Lady, as she was accepted as a role model. On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British prime minister Gordon Brown. "Newsweek" described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power" and MSN described it as a display of sartorial elegance. Questions were raised by some in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette. Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. Obama's style has been described as "fashion populist". In 2010, she wore clothes, many high end, from more than fifty design companies with less expensive pieces from J.Crew and Target, and the same year a study found that her patronage was worth an average of $14million to a company. She became a fashion trendsetter, in particular favoring sleeveless dresses, including her first-term official portrait in a dress by Michael Kors, and her ball gowns designed by Jason Wu for both inaugurals. She has also been known for wearing clothes by African designers such as Mimi Plange, Duro Olowu, Maki Oh, and Osei Duro, and styles such as the Adire fabric.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of "Vogue". Every first lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in "Vogue", but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover. Obama later appeared two more times on the cover of "Vogue", while First Lady, the last time in December 2016, with photographs by Annie Leibovitz. In August 2011, she became the first woman ever to appear on the cover of "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine, and the first person in 48 years. In 2013, during the 85th Academy Awards, she became the first first lady to announce the winner of an Oscar (Best Picture which went to "Argo").


title: Michelle Obama

text: The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions. She said after the 2008 election that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families. In 2008, "U.S. News & World Report" blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbé argued that Obama's own publicists seemed to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance, and said Obama was miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.


title: Michelle Obama

text: For three straight years2018, 2019, and 2020Obama topped the Gallup poll asking who is the "most admired woman" in the U.S.


title: Michelle Obama

text: "Time" magazine features an annual "Person of the Year" cover story in which "Time" recognizes the individual or group of individuals who have had the biggest impact on news headlines over the previous twelve months. In 2020, the magazine decided to retroactively choose a historically deserving woman for each year in which a man had been named Person of the Year, reflecting the fact that a woman or women had been named Person of the Year only eleven times in the preceding hundred. As part of this review, Michelle Obama was named the Woman of the Year for 2008.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In May 2017, during an appearance at the Partnership for a Healthier America conference, Obama rebuked the Trump administration for its delay of a federal requirement designed to increase the nutritional standards for school lunches. In June, while attending the WWDC in Silicon Valley, California, Obama called for tech companies to add women for the diversifying of their ranks. In July, Obama honored Eunice Shriver at the 2017 ESPY Awards. In September, Obama delivered an address at the tech conference in Utah charging the Trump administration with having a fearful White House, appeared in a video for the Global Citizens Festival advocating more attention to giving young girls an education, and attended the Inbound 2017 conference in Boston. During an October3 appearance at the Philadelphia Conference for Women, Obama cited a lack of diversity in politics with contributing to lawmakers being distrusted by other groups. In November, Obama discussed gender disparity in attitudes with Elizabeth Alexander while attending the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, and spoke at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In April 2018, Obama responded to speculation that she might be running for president by saying she has "never had the passion for politics" and that "there are millions of women who are inclined and do have the passion for politics."


title: Michelle Obama

text: On January 2, 2021, Obama encouraged Georgia residents to vote in the state's runoff in the U.S. Senate election and to contact VoteRiders, a non-profit voter ID education organization, to make sure they have the necessary ID to vote.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On January 20, 2021, Obama and her husband attended the inauguration of Joe Biden. Michelle Obama wore a matching plum coat, sweater, pants, and belt designed by Sergio Hudson to the inauguration.


title: Michelle Obama

text: Obama's memoir, "Becoming", was released in November 2018. By November 2019, it had sold 11.5 million copies. A documentary titled "Becoming", which chronicles Obama's book tour promoting the memoir, was released on Netflix on May 6, 2020.


title: Michelle Obama

text: In February 2021, Obama was announced as an executive producer and presenter on a children's cooking show, "Waffles + Mochi." It was released by Netflix on March 16, 2021.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On September 11, 2021, the Obamas attended a 9/11 memorial to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the attacks. More recently, Regina Hicks had signed a deal with Netflix alongside her and Barack's Higher Ground production company to develop comedies.


title: Michelle Obama

text: On July 21, 2022, it was announced that Obama's next book, "", would be published in November 2022. The book was published by Penguin Random House.


title: Flag of India

text: The national flag of India, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of India saffron, white and India green; with the ', a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, and it became the official flag of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolour" almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the ' flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.


title: Flag of India

text: By law, the flag is to be made of "", a special type of hand-spun cloth or silk, made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The right to manufacture the flag is held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, who allocates it to regional groups. As of 2009, the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha has been the sole manufacturer of the flag.


title: Flag of India

text: Usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national emblems. The original code prohibited use of the flag by private citizens except on national days such as the Independence day and the Republic Day. In 2002, on hearing an appeal from a private citizen, Naveen Jindal, the Supreme Court of India directed the Government of India to amend the code to allow flag usage by private citizens. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet of India amended the code to allow limited usage. The code was amended once more in 2005 to allow some additional use including adaptations on certain forms of clothing. The flag code also governs the protocol of flying the flag and its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags.


title: Flag of India

text: According to the Flag code of India, the Indian flag has a width:height aspect ratio of 3:2. All three horizontal bands of the flag (saffron, white and green) are equally sized. The Ashoka Chakra has twenty-four evenly-spaced spokes.


title: Flag of India

text: The size of the Ashoka Chakra is not specified in the flag code, but in section 4.3.1 of "IS1: Manufacturing standards for the Indian Flag", there is a chart that describes specific sizes of the flag and the chakra (reproduced alongside).


title: Flag of India

text: Both the Flag code and IS1 call for the Ashoka Chakra to be printed or painted on both sides of the flag in navy blue. Below is the list of specified shades for all colours used on the national flag, with the exception of Navy Blue, from "IS1: Manufacturing standards for the Indian Flag" as defined in the 1931 CIE Colour Specifications with illuminant C. The navy blue colour can be found in the standard IS:1803–1973.


title: Flag of India

text: Note that the values given in the table correspond to CIE 1931 colour space. Approximate RGB values for use may be taken to be: India saffron #FF9933, white #FFFFFF, India green #138808, navy blue #000080. Pantone values closest to this are 130 U, White, 2258 C and 2735 C.


title: Flag of India

text: Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing, between a red stripe for Hindus and a green stripe for Muslims. The design was then modified to replace red with saffron and to include a white stripe in the centre for other religious communities (as well to symbolise peace between the communities), and provide a background for the spinning wheel. However, to avoid sectarian associations with the colour scheme, the three bands were later reassigned new meanings: courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively.


title: Flag of India

text: A few days before India became independent on 15 August 1947, the specially constituted Constituent Assembly decided that the flag of India must be acceptable to all parties and communities. A modified version of the "Swaraj" flag was chosen; the tricolour remained the same saffron, white and green. However, the "charkha" was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra representing the eternal wheel of law. The philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, clarified the adopted flag and described its significance as follows:


title: Flag of India

text: A number of flags with varying designs were used in the period preceding the Indian independence movement by the rulers of different princely states; the idea of a single Indian flag was first raised by the British rulers of India after the rebellion of 1857, which resulted in the establishment of direct imperial rule. The first flag, whose design was based on western heraldic standards, was similar to the flags of other British colonies, including Canada and South Africa; its red field included the Union Jack in the upper-left quadrant and a Star of India capped by the royal crown in the middle of the right half. To address the question of how the star conveyed "Indianness", Queen Victoria created the Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India to honour services to the empire by her Indian subjects. Subsequently, all the Indian princely states received flags with symbols based on the heraldic criteria of Europe including the right to fly defaced British red ensigns.


title: Flag of India

text: In the early twentieth century, around the coronation of Edward VII, a discussion started on the need for a heraldic symbol that was representative of the Indian empire. William Coldstream, a British member of the Indian Civil Service, campaigned the government to change the heraldic symbol from a star, which he considered to be a common choice, to something more appropriate. His proposal was not well received by the government; Lord Curzon rejected it for practical reasons including the multiplication of flags. Around this time, nationalist opinion within the realm was leading to a representation through religious tradition. The symbols that were in vogue included the Ganesha, advocated by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Kali, advocated by Aurobindo Ghosh and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Another symbol was the cow, or "Gau Mata" (cow mother). However, all these symbols were Hindu-centric and did not suggest unity with India's Muslim population.


title: Flag of India

text: In Europe, in 1579, during the Eighty Years' War, which established the independence of the Dutch Republic from the Spanish Empire, newly formed Netherlands adopted the first tricolour in the world, known as Prinsenvlag, an orange-white-blue flag. This flag symbolised independence. During the French Revolution, in 1790, Le Tricolore, a blue, white and red flag was adopted to symbolise republicanism (overthrow of monarchy). The flag of the Netherlands inspired the flag of France, which in turn inspired many further tricolour flags in countries around the world. Every country took to its own choice of colors to be represented in their tricolours.


title: Flag of India

text: The partition of Bengal (1905) resulted in the introduction of a new flag representing the Indian independence movement that sought to unite the multitude of castes and races within the country.


title: Flag of India

text: The "Vande Mataram" flag, part of the nationalist Swadeshi movement, comprised Indian religious symbols represented in western heraldic fashion. The tricolour flag included eight white lotuses on the upper green band representing the eight provinces, a sun and a crescent on the bottom red band, and the "Vande Mataram" slogan in Hindi on the central yellow band. The flag was launched in Calcutta bereft of any ceremony and the launch was only briefly covered by newspapers. The flag was not covered in contemporary governmental or political reports either, but was used at the annual session of the Indian National Congress. A slightly modified version was subsequently used by Madam Bhikaji Cama at the second International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart in 1907. Despite the multiple uses of the flag, it failed to generate enthusiasm amongst Indian nationalists.


title: Flag of India

text: Around the same time, another proposal for the flag was initiated by Sister Nivedita, a Hindu reformist and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. The flag consisted of a thunderbolt in the centre and a hundred and eight oil lamps for the border, with the "Vande Mataram" caption split around the thunderbolt. It was also presented at the Indian National Congress meeting in 1906. Soon, many other proposals were initiated, but none of them gained attention from the nationalist movement.


title: Flag of India

text: In 1909, Lord Ampthill, former Governor of the Madras Presidency, wrote to "The Times" of London in the run-up to Empire Day pointing out that there existed "no flag representative of India as a whole or any Indian province... Surely this is strange, seeing that but for India there would be no Empire."


title: Flag of India

text: In 1916, Pingali Venkayya submitted thirty new designs, in the form of a booklet funded by members of the High Court of Madras. These many proposals and recommendations did little more than keep the flag movement alive. The same year, Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak adopted a new flag as part of the Home Rule Movement. The flag included the Union Jack in the upper left corner, a star and crescent in the upper right, and seven stars displayed diagonally from the lower right, on a background of five red and four green alternating bands. The flag resulted in the first governmental initiative against any nationalistic flag, as a magistrate in Coimbatore banned its use. The ban was followed by a public debate on the function and importance of a national flag.


title: Flag of India

text: In the early 1920s, national flag discussions gained prominence across most British dominions following the peace treaty between Britain and Ireland. In November 1920, the Indian delegation to the League of Nations wanted to use an Indian flag, and this prompted the British Indian government to place renewed emphasis on the flag as a national symbol.


title: Flag of India

text: In April 1921, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wrote in his journal "Young India" about the need for an Indian flag, proposing a flag with the "charkha" or spinning wheel at the centre. The idea of the spinning wheel was put forth by Lala Hansraj, and Gandhi commissioned Pingali Venkayya to design a flag with the spinning wheel on a red and green banner, the red colour signifying Hindus and the green standing for Muslims. Gandhi wanted the flag to be presented at the Congress session of 1921, but it was not delivered on time, and another flag was proposed at the session. Gandhi later wrote that the delay was fortuitous since it allowed him to realise that other religions were not represented; he then added white to the banner colours, to represent all the other religions. Finally, owing to the religious-political sensibilities, in 1929, Gandhi moved towards a more secular interpretation of the flag colours, stating that red stood for the sacrifices of the people, white for purity, and green for hope.


title: Flag of India

text: On 13 April 1923, during a procession by local Congress volunteers in Nagpur commemorating the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the "Swaraj" flag with the spinning wheel, designed by Pingali Venkayya, was hoisted. This event resulted in a confrontation between the Congressmen and the police, after which five people were imprisoned. Over a hundred other protesters continued the flag procession after a meeting. Subsequently, on the first of May, Jamnalal Bajaj, the secretary of the Nagpur Congress Committee, started the "Flag Satyagraha", gaining national attention and marking a significant point in the flag movement. The "satyagraha", promoted nationally by the Congress, started creating cracks within the organisation in which the Gandhians were highly enthused while the other group, the "Swarajists", called it inconsequential.


title: Flag of India

text: Finally, at the All India Congress Committee meeting in July 1923, at the insistence of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu, Congress closed ranks and the flag movement was endorsed. The flag movement was managed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with the idea of public processions and flag displays by common people. By the end of the movement, over 1500 people had been arrested across all of British India. "The Bombay Chronicle" reported that the movement drew from diverse groups of society including farmers, students, merchants, labourers and "national servants". While Muslim participation was moderate, the movement enthused women, who had hitherto rarely participated in the independence movement.


title: Flag of India

text: While the flag agitation got its impetus from Gandhi's writings and discourses, the movement received political acceptance following the Nagpur incident. News reports, editorials and letters to editors published in various journals and newspapers of the time attest to the subsequent development of a bond between the flag and the nation. Soon, the concept of preserving the honour of the national flag became an integral component of the independence struggle. While Muslims were still wary of the "Swaraj" flag, it gained acceptance among Muslim leaders of the Congress and the Khilafat Movement as the national flag.


title: Flag of India

text: Detractors of the flag movement, including Motilal Nehru, soon hailed the "Swaraj" flag as a symbol of national unity. Thus, the flag became a significant structural component of the institution of India. In contrast to the subdued responses of the past, the British Indian government took greater cognisance of the new flag, and began to define a policy of response. The British parliament discussed public use of the flag, and based on directives from London, the British Indian government threatened to withdraw funds from municipalities and local governments that did not prevent the display of the "Swaraj" flag. The "Swaraj" flag became the official flag of Congress at the 1931 meeting. However, by then, the flag had already become the symbol of the independence movement.


title: Flag of India

text: A few days before India gained its independence in August 1947, the Constituent Assembly was formed. To select a flag for independent India, on 23 June 1947, the assembly set up an "ad hoc" committee headed by Rajendra Prasad and including Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi and B. R. Ambedkar as its members.


title: Flag of India

text: On 14 July 1947, the committee recommended that the flag of the Indian National Congress be adopted as the National Flag of India with suitable modifications, so as to make it acceptable to all parties and communities. It was also resolved that the flag should not have any communal undertones. The spinning wheel of the Congress flag was replaced by the "Chakra" (wheel) from the Lion Capital of Ashoka. According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the "chakra" was chosen as it was representative of "dharma" and law. However, Jawaharlal Nehru explained that the change was more practical in nature, as unlike the flag with the spinning wheel, this design would appear symmetrical. Gandhi was not very pleased by the change, but eventually came around to accepting it.


title: Flag of India

text: The flag was proposed by Nehru at the Constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947 as a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron, white and dark green in equal proportions, with the Ashoka wheel in blue in the centre of the white band. Nehru also presented two flags, one in Khadi-silk and the other in Khadi-cotton, to the assembly. The resolution was approved unanimously. It served as the national flag of the Dominion of India between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950, and has served as the flag of the Republic of India since then.


title: Flag of India

text: The design and manufacturing process for the national flag is regulated by three documents issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). All of the flags are made out of khadi cloth of silk or cotton. The standards were created in 1968 and were updated in 2008. Nine standard sizes of the flag are specified by law.


title: Flag of India

text: In 1951, after India became a republic, the Indian Standards Institute (now the BIS) brought out the first official specifications for the flag. These were revised in 1964 to conform to the metric system which was adopted in India. The specifications were further amended on 17 August 1968. The specifications cover all the essential requirements of the manufacture of the Indian flag including sizes, dye colour, chromatic values, brightness, thread count and hemp cordage. The guidelines are covered under civil and criminal laws and defects in the manufacturing process can result in punishments that include fines or jail terms.


title: Flag of India

text: Khadi or hand-spun cloth is the only material allowed to be used for the flag, and flying a flag made of any other material is punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years, besides a fine. Raw materials for khadi are restricted to cotton, silk and wool. There are two kinds of khadi used: The first is the khadi-bunting which makes up the body of the flag, and the second is the khadi-duck, which is a beige-coloured cloth that holds the flag to the pole. The khadi-duck is an unconventional type of weave that meshes three threads into a weave, compared to the two threads used in conventional weaving. This type of weaving is extremely rare, and there are fewer than twenty weavers in India professing this skill. The guidelines also state that there should be exactly 150 threads per square centimetre, four threads per stitch, and one square foot should weigh exactly .


title: Flag of India

text: The woven khadi is obtained from two handloom units in the Dharwad and Bagalkot districts of northern Karnataka. Currently, Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha based in Hubli is the only licensed flag production and supply unit in India. Permission for setting up flag manufacturing units in India is allotted by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, though the BIS has the power to cancel the licences of units that flout guidelines. The hand-woven khadi for the National Flag was initially manufactured at Garag, a small village in the Dharwad district. A Centre was established at Garag in 1954 by a few freedom fighters under the banner of Dharwad Taluk Kshetriya Seva Sangh and obtained the centre's licence to make flags.


title: Flag of India

text: Once woven, the material is sent to the BIS laboratories for testing. After quality testing, the material, if approved, is returned to the factory. It is then separated into three lots which are dyed saffron, white and green. The Ashoka Chakra is screen printed, stencilled or suitably embroidered onto each side of the white cloth. Care also has to be taken that the chakra is completely visible and synchronised on both sides. Three pieces of the required dimension, one of each colour, are then stitched together according to specifications and the final product is ironed and packed. The BIS then checks the colours and only then can the flag be sold.


title: Flag of India

text: In December 2021 the Government of India amended the flag code to allow machine manufacturing of flags as well as the use of alternative materials including polyester, non-khadi cotton or silk.


title: Flag of India

text: Display and usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India, 2002 (successor to the Flag Code – India, the original flag code); the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950; and the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971. Insults to the national flag, including gross affronts or indignities to it, as well as using it in a manner so as to violate the provisions of the Flag Code, are punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years, or a fine, or both.


title: Flag of India

text: Official regulation states that the flag must never touch the ground or water, or be used as a drapery in any form. The flag may not be intentionally placed upside down, dipped in anything, or hold any objects other than flower petals before unfurling. No sort of lettering may be inscribed on the flag. When out in the open, the flag should always be flown between sunrise and sunset, irrespective of the weather conditions. Prior to 2009, the flag could be flown on a public building at night under special circumstances; currently, Indian citizens can fly the flag even at night, subject to the restriction that the flag should be hoisted on a tall flagpole and be well-illuminated.


title: Flag of India

text: The flag should never be depicted, displayed or flown upside down. It is considered insulting to display the flag in a frayed or dirty state, and the same rule applies to the flagpoles and halyards used to hoist the flag, which should always be in a proper state of maintenance.


title: Flag of India

text: The original flag code of India did not allow private citizens to fly the national flag except on national days such as Independence Day or Republic Day. In 2001, Naveen Jindal, an industrialist used to the more egalitarian use of the flag in the United States where he studied, flew the Indian flag on his office building. The flag was confiscated and he was warned of prosecution. Jindal filed a public interest litigation petition in the High Court of Delhi; he sought to strike down the restriction on the use of the flag by private citizens, arguing that hoisting the national flag with due decorum and honour was his right as a citizen, and a way of expressing his love for the country.


title: Flag of India

text: At the end of the appeals process, the case was heard by the Supreme Court of India; the court ruled in Jindal's favour, asking the Government of India to consider the matter. The Union Cabinet of India then amended the Indian Flag Code with effect from 26 January 2002, allowing private citizens to hoist the flag on any day of the year, subject to their safeguarding the dignity, honour and respect of the flag. It is also held that the code was not a statute and restrictions under the code ought to be followed; also, the right to fly the flag is a qualified right, unlike the absolute rights guaranteed to citizens, and should be interpreted in the context of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.


title: Flag of India

text: The original flag code also forbade use of the flag on uniforms, costumes and other clothing. In July 2005, the Government of India amended the code to allow some forms of usage. The amended code forbids usage in clothing below the waist and on undergarments, and forbids embroidering onto pillowcases, handkerchiefs or other dress material.


title: Flag of India

text: Disposal of damaged flags is also covered by the flag code. Damaged or soiled flags may not be cast aside or disrespectfully destroyed; they have to be destroyed as a whole in private, preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with the dignity of the flag.


title: Flag of India

text: The rules regarding the correct methods to display the flag state that when two flags are fully spread out horizontally on a wall behind a podium, their hoists should be towards each other with the saffron stripes uppermost. If the flag is displayed on a short flagpole, this should be mounted at an angle to the wall with the flag draped tastefully from it. If two national flags are displayed on crossed staffs, the hoists must be towards each other and the flags must be fully spread out. The flag should never be used as a cloth to cover tables, lecterns, podiums or buildings, or be draped from railings.


title: Flag of India

text: Whenever the flag is displayed indoors in halls at public meetings or gatherings of any kind, it should always be on the right (observers' left), as this is the position of authority. So when the flag is displayed next to a speaker in the hall or other meeting place, it must be placed on the speaker's right hand. When it is displayed elsewhere in the hall, it should be to the right of the audience. The flag should be displayed completely spread out with the saffron stripe on top. If hung vertically on the wall behind the podium, the saffron stripe should be to the left of the onlookers facing the flag with the hoist cord at the top.


title: Flag of India

text: The flag, when carried in a procession or parade or with another flag or flags, should be on the marching right or alone in the centre at the front. The flag may form a distinctive feature of the unveiling of a statue, monument, or plaque, but should never be used as the covering for the object. As a mark of respect to the flag, it should never be dipped to a person or thing, as opposed to regimental colours, organisational or institutional flags, which may be dipped as a mark of honour. During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag, or when the flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the flag and stand at attention. Those present in uniform should render the appropriate salute. When the flag is in a moving column, persons present will stand at attention or salute as the flag passes them. A dignitary may take the salute without a head dress. The flag salutation should be followed by the playing of the national anthem.


title: Flag of India

text: The privilege of flying the national flag on vehicles is restricted to the President, the Vice President or the Prime Minister, Governors and Lieutenant Governors of states, Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, members of the Parliament of India and state legislatures of the Indian states (Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad), judges of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts, and flag officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The flag has to be flown from a staff affixed firmly either on the middle front or to the front right side of the car. When a foreign dignitary travels in a car provided by government, the flag should be flown on the right side of the car while the flag of the foreign country should be flown on the left side.


title: Flag of India

text: The flag should be flown on the aircraft carrying the President, the Vice President or the Prime Minister on a visit to a foreign country. Alongside the National Flag, the flag of the country visited should also be flown; however, when the aircraft lands in countries en route, the national flags of the respective countries would be flown instead. When carrying the president within India, aircraft display the flag on the side the president embarks or disembarks; the flag is similarly flown on trains, but only when the train is stationary or approaching a railway station.


title: Flag of India

text: When the Indian flag is flown on Indian territory along with other national flags, the general rule is that the Indian flag should be the starting point of all flags. When flags are placed in a straight line, the rightmost flag (leftmost to the observer facing the flag) is the Indian flag, followed by other national flags in alphabetical order. When placed in a circle, the Indian flag is the first point and is followed by other flags alphabetically. In such placement, all other flags should be of approximately the same size with no other flag being larger than the Indian flag. Each national flag should also be flown from its own pole and no flag should be placed higher than another. In addition to being the first flag, the Indian flag may also be placed within the row or circle alphabetically. When placed on crossed poles, the Indian flag should be in front of the other flag, and to the right (observer's left) of the other flag. The only exception to the preceding rule is when it is flown along with the flag of the United Nations, which may be placed to the right of the Indian flag.


title: Flag of India

text: When the Indian flag is displayed with non-national flags, including corporate flags and advertising banners, the rules state that if the flags are on separate staffs, the flag of India should be in the middle, or the furthest left from the viewpoint of the onlookers, or at least one flag's breadth higher than the other flags in the group. Its flagpole must be in front of the other poles in the group, but if they are on the same staff, it must be the uppermost flag. If the flag is carried in procession with other flags, it must be at the head of the marching procession, or if carried with a row of flags in line abreast, it must be carried to the marching right of the procession.


title: Flag of India

text: The flag should be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. The decision to do so lies with the President of India, who also decides the period of such mourning. When the flag is to be flown at half mast, it must first be raised to the top of the mast and then slowly lowered. Only the Indian flag is flown half mast; all other flags remain at normal height.


title: Flag of India

text: The flag is flown half-mast nationwide on the death of the President, Vice President or Prime Minister. It is flown half-mast in New Delhi and the state of origin for the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Union Ministers. On deaths of Governors, Lt. Governors and Chief Ministers, the flag is flown at half-mast in the respective states and union territories.


title: Flag of India

text: The Indian flag cannot be flown at half-mast on Republic Day (26 January), Independence day (15 August), Gandhi Jayanti (2 October), or state formation anniversaries, except over buildings housing the body of the deceased dignitary. However, even in such cases, the flag must be raised to full-mast when the body is moved from the building.


title: Flag of India

text: Observances of State mourning on the death of foreign dignitaries are governed by special instructions issued from the Ministry of Home Affairs in individual cases. However, in the event of death of either the Head of the State or Head of the Government of a foreign country, the Indian Mission accredited to that country may fly the national flag at half-mast.


title: Flag of India

text: On occasions of state, military, central para-military forces funerals, the flag shall be draped over the bier or coffin with the saffron towards the head of the bier or coffin. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or burnt in the pyre.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: , also known simply as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. "Evangelion" is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm, particularly in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. The protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the shadowy organization Nerv to pilot a giant bio-machine mecha named "Evangelion" into combat against beings known as "Angels".


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: The series explores the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and members of Nerv as they try to prevent Angels from causing more cataclysms. In the process, they are called upon to understand the ultimate causes of events and the motives for human action. The series has been described as a deconstruction of the mecha genre and it features archetypal imagery derived from Shinto cosmology as well as Jewish and Christian mystical traditions, including Midrashic tales and Kabbalah. The psychoanalytic accounts of human behavior put forward by Freud and Jung are also prominently featured.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: "Neon Genesis Evangelion" received critical acclaim but was also subject to controversy. Particular controversy centered on the final two episodes of the series, as the ending was deemed confusing and abstract to many viewers and critics alike. In 1997, Hideaki Anno and Gainax released the feature film "The End of Evangelion", which serves as an alternate ending replacing the final two episodes. A series of four films, titled "Rebuild of Evangelion", retelling the events of the series with different plot elements and a new ending, were released between 2007 and 2021. The success of the series led to a rebirth of the anime industry, and it has become a cultural icon. Film, manga, home video, and other products in the "Evangelion" franchise have achieved record sales in Japanese markets and strong sales in overseas markets, with related goods selling over by 2007 and "Evangelion" pachinko machines generating by 2015.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo Ikari, director of the special paramilitary force Nerv. Shinji witnesses United Nations forces battling an Angel, one of a race of giant monstrous beings whose awakening was foretold by the Dead Sea Scrolls. Because of the Angels' near-impenetrable force-fields, Nerv's giant Evangelion bio-machines, synchronized to the nervous systems of their pilots and possessing their own force-fields, are the only weapons capable of keeping the Angels from annihilating humanity. Nerv officer Misato Katsuragi escorts Shinji into the Nerv complex beneath the city, where his father pressures him into piloting the Evangelion Unit-01 against the Angel. Without training, Shinji is quickly overwhelmed in the battle, causing the Evangelion to go berserk and savagely kill the Angel on its own.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Following hospitalization, Shinji moves in with Misato and settles into life in Tokyo-3. In his second battle, Shinji destroys an Angel but runs away afterward, distraught. Misato confronts Shinji and he decides to remain a pilot. The Nerv crew and Shinji must then battle and defeat the remaining fourteen Angels to prevent the Third Impact, a global cataclysm that would destroy the world. Evangelion Unit-00 is repaired shortly afterward. Shinji tries to befriend its pilot, the mysterious, socially isolated teenage girl Rei Ayanami. With Rei's help, Shinji defeats another Angel. They are then joined by the pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, the multitalented but insufferable teenager Asuka Langley Sōryu, who is German-Japanese-American. Together, the three of them manage to defeat several Angels. As Shinji adjusts to his new role as a pilot, he gradually becomes more confident and self-assured. Asuka moves in with Shinji, and they begin to develop confusing feelings for one another, kissing at her provocation.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: After being absorbed by an Angel, Shinji breaks free thanks to Eva acting on its own. He is later forced to fight an infected Evangelion Unit-03 and watches its pilot, his friend and classmate Toji Suzuhara, become incapacitated and permanently disabled. Asuka loses her self-confidence following a defeat and spirals into depression. This is worsened by her next fight, against an Angel which attacks her mind and forces her to relive her worst fears and childhood trauma, resulting in a mental breakdown. In the next battle, Rei self-destructs Unit-00 and dies to save Shinji's life. Misato and Shinji visit the hospital where they find Rei alive but claiming she is "the third Rei". Misato forces scientist Ritsuko Akagi to reveal the dark secrets of Nerv, the Evangelion boneyard, and the dummy plug system which operates using clones of Rei, who was herself created with the DNA of Shinji's mother, Yui Ikari. This succession of events leaves Shinji emotionally scarred and alienated from the rest of the characters. Kaworu Nagisa replaces the catatonic Asuka as the pilot of Unit-02. Kaworu, who initially befriends Shinji and gains his trust, is in truth the final foretold Angel, Tabris. Kaworu fights Shinji, then realizes that he must die if humanity is to survive and asks Shinji to kill him. Shinji hesitates but eventually kills Kaworu; the event makes Shinji overridden with guilt.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: After the final Angel is defeated, Gendo triggers the "Human Instrumentality Project", a forced evolution of humanity in which the souls of all mankind are merged for benevolent purposes, believing that if unified, humanity could finally overcome the loneliness and alienation that has eternally plagued mankind. Shinji's soul grapples with the reason for his existence and reaches an epiphany that he needs others to thrive, enabling him to destroy the wall of negative emotions that torment him and reunite with the others, who congratulate him.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Hideaki Anno attempted to create characters that reflected parts of his own personality. The characters of "Evangelion" struggle with their interpersonal relationships, their personal problems, and traumatic events in their past. The human qualities of the characters have enabled some viewers of the show to identify with the characters on a personal level, while others interpret them as historical, religious, or philosophical symbols.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Shinji Ikari is the series protagonist and the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. After witnessing his mother Yui Ikari's death as a child, Shinji was abandoned by his father, Gendo Ikari. He is emotionally hypersensitive and sometimes does as expected out of fear of rejection, but he has often rebelled and refused to pilot the Eva because of the excruciating harm that has been done to him or to his friends. Throughout the series, he says to himself "I mustn't run away" as a means of encouraging himself to face the threats of the day, and this sometimes actually gives him bravery in battle, but he has a lingering habit of withdrawing in response to traumatic events. Anno has described Shinji as a boy who "shrinks from human contact" and has "convinced himself that he is a completely unnecessary person".


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: The withdrawn and mysterious pilot of Evangelion Unit-00, Rei Ayanami, is a clone made from the salvaged remains of Yui and is plagued by a sense of negative self-worth stemming from the realization that she is an expendable asset. She at first despises Shinji for his lack of trust in his father Gendo, with whom Rei is very close. However, after Shinji and Rei successfully defeat the Angel Ramiel, she takes a friendly liking to him. Towards the end of the series, it is revealed that she is one of many clones, whose use is to replace the currently existing Rei if she is killed.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Asuka Langley Soryu is a child prodigy who pilots Evangelion Unit-02 and possesses a fiery temper and an overabundance of pride and self-confidence, which often gets her in trouble and difficulty, especially during battles. As a little girl, Asuka discovered the body of her mother shortly after she committed suicide, leading the child to repress her emotions and vow never to cry. Asuka and Shinji develop intense but ambiguous feelings towards each other having difficulty reaching out to others. Their relationship was initially modeled on the one between Jean, Nadia's love interest and eventual husband in the earlier "". Similarly to Shinji, Asuka and Rei are presented with their own flaws and difficulty relating to other people.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Misato Katsuragi is the caretaker and commanding officer for Shinji and Asuka. Her professional demeanor at Nerv contrasts dramatically with her carefree and irresponsible behavior at home. Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto conceived her as an older "girl next door" and promiscuous loser who failed to take life seriously. Hideaki Anno described Shinji and Misato as "afraid of being hurt" and "unsuitable—lacking the positive attitude—for what people call heroes of an adventure."


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: The teenaged Evangelion pilots are ordered into battle by the steely Gendo Ikari, Shinji's father and the commander of Nerv. He abandoned Shinji and recalled him only to serve as an Evangelion pilot. Gendo salvaged the remains of his dead wife's body to create Rei, whom he viewed as a mere tool at his disposal to defeat the Angels and enact Instrumentality. Similar to Shinji, he is somewhat asocial and is afraid of being insulted by others and often runs away from such, often committing immoralities in the process. This fear is also what drove him to abandon Shinji. He is depicted as relentless in his drive to win, a man who "takes drastic and extreme measures, by fair means or foul, or by hook or by crook, in order to accomplish his own purpose." According to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the characters of Gendo and Fuyutsuki are based on Ed Straker and Alec Freeman of the television series "UFO". Sadamoto designed the visual appearance of the characters so that their personalities "could be understood more or less at a glance". The distinctive aesthetic appeal of the female lead characters' designs contributed to the high sales of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" merchandise. The design of Rei, in particular, became so popular that the media referred to the character as "Premium Girl" due to the high sales of books with Rei on the cover.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Director Hideaki Anno fell into a depression following completion of work on "" and the 1992 failure of the "" sequel project. According to Yasuhiro Takeda, Anno agreed to a collaboration between King Records and Gainax while drinking with King representative Toshimichi Ōtsuki; King Records guaranteed Anno a time slot for "something, anything". Anno began the development of the new series in 1993 around the notion of not running away, which had been the underlying theme of "Aoki Uru", an earlier Anno project that had failed to move into production. Early into the production, Anno stated his intent to have "Evangelion" increase the number of otaku (anime fans) and attract interest in the medium. According to him, the plot of the series reflects his four-year depression. In the early design phase of the "Evangelion" project, several formats were considered, including a film, a television series and an original video animation (OVA) series. The producers finally opted for the television series as it was the most widely accessible media in Japan at that time. The proposed title "Alcion" was rejected due to its lack of hard consonant sounds.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Critics noted how "Evangelion" borrowed certain scenarios and the use of introspection as a narrative device from a previous Anno project entitled "Gunbuster", as he incorporated the narrative structure of "Nadia" and multiple frames of reference, leaving the story open to interpretation. Over the course of the writing process, elements of the "Evangelion" storyline evolved from the original concept. A female protagonist was initially proposed for the series, but the idea was scrapped. Originally, the first episode presented the battle between an Angel and Rei, while the character of Shinji was only introduced after the Angel had been temporarily defeated. Further changes to the plot were made following the Aum Shinrikyo sect's sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March. Azuma Hiroki has said that the original "Evangelion" story was "too close to reality" from Anno's point of view. Basically, Anno thought that the original scenario was not suitable for broadcasting, and he feared censorship. However, he also criticized Aum Shinrikyo, because "they lost any contact with reality". For this reason, Azuma stated that "Evangelion" "is an intrinsic critique of Aum". The final version of the story reflects inspiration drawn from numerous other anime and fictional works. Chief among these are "Space Battleship Yamato", "Mobile Suit Gundam", "Devilman" and "Space Runaway Ideon". The series also incorporates tributes to "Childhood's End", the novels of Ryū Murakami, "The Andromeda Strain", "The Divine Invasion", the poem "Pippa Passes", "The Hitcher", and several television series including "The Prisoner", "Thunderbirds", "Ultraman" and "Ultra Seven".


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: The development of the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" series ran close to deadlines throughout its production run. The initial cuts of the first two episodes were screened at the second Gainax festival in July 1995, only three months before they were aired on television. By episode 13 the series began to deviate significantly from the original story, and the initial project was abandoned. The number of Angels was reduced to 17 instead of the original 28, and the writers changed the story's ending, which had originally described the failure of the Human Instrumentality Project after an Angel attack from the moon. Not only did the series suffer from scheduling issues, but according to Anno, despite Gainax being the lead studio for the series, the company itself had inadequate materials and staff for the full production of the series. Only three staff members from Gainax were working on the series at any given time, and the majority of the series' production was outsourced to Tatsunoko Production.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Starting with episode 16, the show changed drastically, discarding the grand narrative concerning salvation for a narrative focusing on the individual characters. This change coincided with Anno's development of an interest in psychology after a friend lent him a book on mental illness. This focus culminated in a psychoanalysis of the characters in the two final episodes. Necessity forced Anno to abandon the script of the twenty-fifth episode to work with a new one. These episodes feature heavy use of abstract animation, flashbacks, simple line drawings, photographs and fixed image scenes with voice-over dialogue. Some critics speculated that these unconventional animation choices resulted from budget cuts, but Toshio Okada stated that while it wasn't only a problem of schedule or budget, Anno "couldn't decide the ending until the time came, that's his style". These two episodes sparked controversy and condemnation among fans and critics of the series. In 1997, Hideaki Anno and Gainax released two animated feature films, providing another ending for the show: "" and "The End of Evangelion".


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: References to mystical traditions in Judaism and Christianity, including Midrashic literature and Kabbalah are threaded liberally through the series. Complicating viewers' attempts to form an unambiguous interpretation, the series reworks Midrash stories, Zohar images and other Kabbalistic ideas developed from the Book of Genesis to create a new "Evangelion"-specific mythology. Assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki said the religious visual references were intended to make the series more "interesting" and "exotic", denying the existence of a religious meaning for the use of Christian visual symbols in the show. According to Anno, "as the symbols are mixed together, for the first time something like an interrelationship or a meaning emerges". The plot combines elements of esotericism and mysticism of the Jewish Kabbalah, including the Angels, which have common and individual features with the Angels of the religious tradition, such as Sachiel, Sandalphon and Ramiel.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: According to Patrick Drazen, numerous allusions to the "Kojiki" and the "Nihongi" have a prominent role in "Evangelion", along with the Shinto vision of the primordial cosmos and the mythical lances of the Shinto deities Izanagi and Izanami. Elements of the Judeo-Christian tradition also feature prominently throughout the series, including references to Adam, Lilith, Eve, the Lance of Longinus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Kabbalistic concept of Adam Kadmon, and the Tree of Life. The merging of all human souls into one through the Human Instrumentality Project at the end of the series has been compared to the Kabbalistic concept of tikkun olam. The Evangelions have been likened to the golem of Jewish folklore, and their visual design resembles the traditional depictions of oni, Japanese demons or ogres.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: "Neon Genesis Evangelion" has been interpreted as a deeply personal expression of Hideaki Anno's own emotional struggles with depression. During the production of the series, he became interested in mental illness and psychology. According to him, Rei is a schizophrenic character and a representation of Shinji's unconscious, while Shinji has an Oedipus complex and is characterized by a libido-destrudo conflict. Similarly, Ritsuko has an Electra complex, in which she loves Gendo, a sort of substitute for her father figure. Anno himself stated that he identifies with Shinji in both a conscious and unconscious manner, while Rei is Anno's "deepest part" and Kaworu his Jungian shadow. Shinji's entering into Unit-01 has been interpreted as a Freudian "return to the womb", and his struggle to be free of the Eva as his "rite of passage" into manhood. The series also contains references to philosophical and psychoanalytic concepts, such as the oral stage, introjection, oral personality, ambivalence, and the death drive, including elements of the works of Sigmund Freud, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Søren Kierkegaard.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: In May 1996, Gainax announced an "Evangelion" film in response to fan dissatisfaction with the series finale. On March 15, 1997, Gainax released "Evangelion: Death & Rebirth", consisting of 60 minutes of clips taken from the first 24 episodes of the series and the first 30 minutes of the new ending due to production issues. The second film, "The End of Evangelion", which premiered on July 19, 1997, provided the complete new ending as a retelling of the final two episodes of the television series. Rather than depicting the series' climax within the characters' minds, the film provides a more conventional, action-based resolution to the series' plot lines. The film won numerous awards and grossed 1.45 billion yen within six months of its release. Ex.org ranked the film in 1999 as the fifth best 'All-Time Show', with the television series at #2. In 2009, CUT Magazine ranked it the third greatest anime film of all time. In July 1998, the films were re-released as "" which combined "Death(true)²" (the director's cut of "Death") with "The End of Evangelion".


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: A new animated film series called "Rebuild of Evangelion" by Gainax was made, consisting of four movies. The first film retells the first six episodes from the series but from the second film onward the story is different, including new characters, Evas and Angels. The first film, "", was released in Japan on September 1, 2007, with "" released on June 27, 2009, and "" released on November 17, 2012. The final film, titled "", was released on March 8, 2021, after two delays. In 2015, "Evangelion:Another Impact", a 3D-rendered short film collaboration between the Khara studio and the media company Dwango was directed by Shinji Aramaki, released and streamed as number 12 anime short from the Japan Animator Expo on February 8. It depicts "the story of an Evangelion's activation, rampage and howling in another world".


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Ten months prior to the television broadcast of "Evangelion", the character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto illustrated a manga version of the story, initially a supplement meant to promote the anime series. The first installment of the manga was published in the February issue of "Shōnen Ace" in December 1994 with subsequent installments produced on an irregular basis over an eighteen-year period. The final installment was published in June 2013. Several publishers were initially concerned at the selection of Sadamoto to develop the manga adaptation, viewing him as "too passé to be bankable". These concerns proved unfounded upon the strong commercial success of the manga: the first 10 volumes sold over 15 million copies, and the eleventh volume reached number one on the Tohan charts, selling an additional two million copies. The manga series won the 1996 "Comicker" fan manga poll. The story has been adapted into several other manga series in addition to the original Sadamoto project: "", a mystery story that omits the Evangelion units, and "", a parody series which received its own original net animation serial show.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Shirō Sagisu composed most of the original music for the series. The soundtracks released to high rankings on the Oricon charts, with "Neon Genesis Evangelion III" reaching the number one slot for highest sales in 1997; that same year, Sagisu received the Kobe Animation award for "Best Music Score" for his work on "Evangelion". Classical music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Giuseppe Verdi and George Frideric Handel were also featured throughout the series and the movies. Additional classical works and original symphonic compositions were used to score later movies produced within the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" franchise. In total, the series' discography includes 21 full studio, live, compilation and soundtrack albums and six CD singles. The series' opening theme is "A Cruel Angel's Thesis", performed by Yoko Takahashi. It ranked on two TV Asahi polls, reaching #55 for best anime theme songs of all time, and #18 for best anime theme songs of the 1990s. Fifteen years after its release, the theme won JASRAC's annual award for the royalties it continues to generate from its usage in pachinko, pachislo, karaoke and other venues. The end theme of the series was a version of "Fly Me to the Moon" arranged and sung by Claire Littley.


title: Neon Genesis Evangelion

text: Several video games based on the series have been developed, ranging from RPG and adventure games to mahjong and card games. The series has also spawned visual novels, two of them inspired the romance and comedy-focused manga series "" and "".