India's flag history

1. NATIONAL FLAG

2. KNOW ABOUT YOUR NATIONAL
FLAG

4. • The tricolor is a symbol of national pride for every Indian. It
signifies India’s long struggle for freedom. The tricolor in its
present form was adopted on July 22, 1947, by the Constituent
Assembly. Our tricolor has three colors namely, saffron at the
top, white in the middle and green at the bottom, divided
equally in the ratio of 2:3. The Ashok Chakra in navy-blue color
having 24 spokes occupies the center in white.
• The first ever flag for India was made by Irish Disciple of Swami
Vivekananda, in the year 1904, it had two colours red and
yellow. Red denoted the freedom struggle and yellow
symbolised victory. The flag had Vande Mataram written on it
in Bengali. It also had a Vajra ( said to be the weapon of rain
God Indra) and a white lotus at the center.
• Since then many flags have been designed by various
personalities. In the same year(1906) a flag was believed to be
designed by Sachindra Prasad and Sukumar Mitra.
• In the year 1907 came the flag designed by Madam Bhikaji
Rustom Cama’s flag, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Shyamji
Krishna Verma

5. • In 1916, Pingali Venkaiyya designed a flagwith the intention to bring the
whole nation together. He reportedly had met Gandhi, who had said to him
to incorporate the charka to represent the economic regeneration of India.
Pingali Venkayya came up with a flag with charka on a red and green
background. However, Gandhi was not happy with it as he believed that the
flag did not represent all religions of India.
• To address Gandhiji’s concern a new flag was designed. This time the white
featured at the top, green in the center and red at the bottom symbolising
the minority religions, Muslims and Hindus respectively, with a Charkha
drawn across all three bands. Although this flag was not adopted by Congress
it was widely used during the freedom movement
• The Hindu reportsthat four years preceding 1919, Pingali Venkaiyaa had been
offering various designs of flags for the Indian National Flag.
• However, around this time, there were many who were not satisfied with the
religious interpretation of the flag. All India Sanskrit Congress convened in
Calcutta in 1924 suggested the inclusion of saffron and ‘Gadha’ of Lord
Vishnu as the symbol of Hindus. Sikhs too demanded inclusion of yellow color
to represent them.
• In the wake of these developments, Congress Working Committee appointed
a ‘Flag Committee on 02-04-1931 to sort out these issues and passing a
resolution that "objection has been taken to the three colors in the flag on
the ground that they are conceived on the communal basis."

6. • As a result of this, a flag featuring just one colour, ochre, and a
charka at the upper hoist. The INC did not adopt this flag on the
ground of communal lines.
• Later that year when the congress committee met in Karachi, a
resolution was passed saying, The Hindu quotes “The National Flag
shall be three-colored, horizontally arranged as before, but the
colors shall be saffron, white and green in that order from top to
bottom, with the spinning-wheel in dark blue in the center of the
white stripe; it being understood that the colors have no
communal significance, but that saffron shall represent courage
and sacrifice, white peace and truth, and green shall represent
faith and chivalry, and the spinning wheel the hope of the masses."
• This flag was said to be designed by Pingali Venkayya.
• The Indian National Congress officially adopted this flag on
6th August 1931 and hoisted it on August 31, 1931. This day was
regarded as Flag day. It had tricolor just like the current national
flag but with the charkha at the center.

7. the flag took place on the eve of Independence, a committee of the
Constituent Assembly decided that while they would retain the colours
and spirit of the tricolour, they needed to make some changes, if only to
ensure that the flag of independent India was not identified with the
Congress party alone. Finally, it was resolved that the spinning wheel
would be replaced by a Asoka Chakra
• Pingali Venkayya (2 August 1876/8– 4 July 1963) was an Indian
freedom fighter. He was the designer of the flag on which the
initial Indian National Flag was based.[3] He was also a lecturer,
author, geologist, educationalist, agriculturist, and a polyglot.[4][5]
• At the age of 19, Venkayya had enrolled in the British Indian
Army and was deployed to South Africa during the Second Boer
War (1899–1902). During the war when the soldiers had to salute
the Union Jack, the national flag of Britain, Venkayya realised the
need for having a flag for Indians.[ When Venkayya attended
the AICC session in 1906 in Calcutta, he was inspired to design a
flag for the Indian National Congress as he opposed the idea of
hoisting the British flag at Congress meetings

8. • Various flags had been used by members of the Indian
independence movement before independence was achieved
in 1947. Pingali Venkayya designed the National Flag and
presented it to Mahatma Gandhi during the latter's visit
to Vijayawada on 1 April 1921.[7][8][9] Venkayya's first draft of
the flag was in red and green — the red representing Hindus
and green the Muslims living in the country. On Gandhi's
suggestion, Venkayya added a white stripe to represent all
other denominations and religions present in India.[6] Since
1921, Venkayya's flag has been used informally at all Congress
meetings. The flag was adopted in its present form during a
meeting of the Constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947.[2][6][7]
• Venkayya was an agriculturist, as well as an educationist who
set up an educational institution in Machilipatnam. He died in
relative poverty in 1963 and was largely forgotten by
society.[4][6] A postage stamp was issued to commemorate him
in 2009. In 2012, his name was proposed for a
posthumous Bharat Ratna though there has been no response
from the central government on the proposal.[2][6]