India's Tricolour was adopted on this day in 1947: How the flag evolved over the decades
The National Flag of India was adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on this day in the year 1947
- India News
- 3 min read
The National Flag of India was adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on this day in the year 1947. The "Tricolour" or “Tiranga” in Hindi refers to the Indian National Flag.
The flag of India, as known to every citizen, is a horizontal Tricolour symbol with the deep Saffron band at the top, White in the middle and dark Green at the bottom. A navy-Blue wheel (representing the Ashoka chakra) is at the centre of the white band and it has 24 spokes.
How did the Indian flag originate?
Our National Flag underwent various changes since its first inception during the national freedom struggle. The evolution of Tiranga sailed through many variations before arriving at what it is today. In a way, the changes reflect the political developments in the nation over the years. Here are some of the remarkable evolutions of the Indian National Flag.
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The first national flag in India was hoisted on August 7, 1906, in the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park) in Calcutta now Kolkata. The flag was composed of three horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green.
The second flag was hoisted in Paris by Madame Cama in 1907. This was very similar to the first flag except that the top strip had seven stars denoting the Saptarishi (seven sages). This flag was also exhibited at a socialist conference in Berlin.
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The third flag was hoisted in 1917 when the political struggle took a definite turn in India. Dr Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak hoisted it during the Home rule movement. This flag had five red and four green horizontal strips arranged alternately, with seven stars on them. In the top-left corner was the Union Jack. There was also a white crescent and star in one corner.
The fourth flag was designed in 1921 by Andhra youth who brought it to Gandhiji during a session of the All India Congress Committee. It consisted of two colours, red and green, representing the two major communities i.e. Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji then suggested the addition of a white stripe at the top to represent the remaining communities of India and the spinning wheel to symbolise progress of the nation.
The year 1931 was a landmark in the history of the flag. A resolution was passed adopting a tricolour flag as the national symbol. This flag, the forbear of the present one, was saffron, white and green with Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel in the middle. It was cleared that it bore no communal significance.
On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted it as Free India National Flag. After Independence, the colours and their significance remained the same. Only the Dharma Charkha of Emperor Asoka was adopted in place of the spinning wheel as the emblem on the flag. In this way, the tricolour flag of the Congress Party eventually became the Tricolour flag of Independent India.
Significance of the tricolours
The Saffron colour band indicates the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The last band is green in colour shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. The Dharma Chakra depicted the "wheel of the law" made by Emperor Ashoka. The chakra shows that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.
(Credits: knowindia.gov.in)