On the 15th of August, India will celebrate its 77th year of Freedom. As Indians, we thank all past leaders who bravely fought for the freedom of our country. On Independence Day 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hoist the tricolor flag at the Red Fort in Old Delhi and is also expected to address the nation. Independence Day is proclaimed a national holiday, which implies that each government office, post office, bank, and shop will be closed.
This time we will delve deeper into the history, evolution, and meaning of the chakra and the colors of the flag to learn more about our national flag.
History and Evolution
Mahatma Gandhi once pushed why India should have its own flag and said, "A flag is a necessity for all nations. Millions have died for it. It is no doubt a kind of idolatry that would be a sin to destroy. It will be necessary for us Indians Muslims, Christians, Jews, Parsis, and all others to whom India is their home to recognize a common flag to live and to die for."
The current type of Indian flag was taken a couple of days before the nation acquired its freedom from British rule on August 15, 1947. The decision was made during the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on July 22, 1947. It filled in as the national banner of the Territory of India between August 15, 1947, and January 2, 1950, and that of the Republic of India from there on.
But the Indian flag changed a lot before it became what it is today. According to Knowindia.gov, on August 7, 1906, India's first unofficial flag was unveiled at Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park) in Kolkata (now Kolkata). It contains horizontal stripes of red, yellow, and green.
The second flag was raised in Paris in 1907 by Madame de Camar and her band of exiled revolutionaries. It is basically the same as the main flag. However, the flower was replaced by a star.
The third flag was raised by Dr. Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak in 1917, during the Home Rule movement. Meanwhile, India's political struggle experienced a turning point. This variant of the flag was altogether different from the initial two. It highlighted red and green even stripes, seven stars in the saptarishi setup, the Union Jack, and a white sickle and star.
The fourth flag was unofficially embraced in 1921. An Andhra youth prepared a flag and took it to Mahatma Gandhi during a meeting of the All India Congress Committee. It had two tones—red and green—to address the Hindu and Muslim populations in India. Mahatma Gandhi added the white strip to address the remaining communities and the spinning wheel to represent the country's advancement.
The current flag was embraced in 1931, and it was likewise utilised as the fight ensign of the Indian National Army. It was a milestone moment as a resolution was passed to adopt a tricolor flag as our national flag. It highlighted saffron, white and green bands with Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel at the middle.
The current tricolor flag of India came after independence. The colour and significance of the flag continued as before, just the Dharma Charkha of Emperor Asoka was taken on instead of the turning wheel as the image on the flag.
Indian flag colours
The national flag of India is a tricolor of saffron at the top, white in the center, and dark green at the bottom. A navy blue wheel addressing the chakra is available solidly in the center of the white band.
Significance of colours on Indian flag
The saffron tone demonstrates the strength and boldness of the country. The white shows harmony and truth. The green band addresses the fruitfulness, development, and propitiousness of our property. Dharma Chakra portrays the "wheel of the law" in the Sarnath Lion Capital made by the third-century BC Mauryan Ruler Ashoka. It connoted that there is life in movement and demise in stagnation.
Also read | Independence Day 2023: Know about August 15 celebrations and how it is different from Republic Day
Also read | Independence Day 2023: Know about celebrations in Delhi, special guests and ceremonial salute at Red Fort
