New Delhi: July 22, 1947, was the golden day when India adopted the Tricolour its people hoist proudly in the country and overseas, although it has undergone a few changes over the years.
The Indian National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly 23 days before Independence on July 22, 1947.
Long before Independence, leaders of the Freedom Movement decided upon a tricoloured flag which was used widely in many national movements though there was no official flag at the time.
The year 1947 was the first time the flag would represent the country.
Nearly 562 princely states, that existed during the British Raj and were later merged with the Indian Union, had their own distinct flags as identity.
Well-known freedom fighter Pingali Venkaiah studied the flags of 30 countries from 1916 to 1921 before presenting the flag he designed at the Indian National Congress Convention, 1921. His flag comprised red and green colours to symbolise secular harmony.
He later added a third colour, white, representing other communities, and the spinning wheel, a symbol of revolution, on the suggestion of Mahatama Gandhi.
Congress passed a resolution to adopt this Tricolour as the national flag at its annual convention in August 1931.
Over the years, it underwent some changes before being adopted as the official national flag. Saffron replaced red colour while blue Ashokan Chakra replaced the spinning wheel.
Saffron symbolised courage, strength, and sacrifice, whereas the Ashoka Chakra symbolised Indian diversity. The Ashoka Chakra or Dhamma Chakra replaced Gandhi’s spinning wheel that stood for the freedom struggle of 30 years.
The final design of India’s Tricolour comprised a saffron band on top, followed by a white band with Ashoka Chakra and green colour at the bottom of the flag.
(Avya Mathur)
