Shweta Goyal
Every nation in the world has its own national flag. A national flag is intrinsically linked to a country's dignity and identity. However, in this regard, our national flag, the ‘Tricolor’, possesses numerous distinct features compared to the national flags of other countries. Since the Constituent Assembly adopted the current Indian Tricolor as the official flag of the nation on July 22, 1947—just a few days before India gained independence from the British—‘National Flag Day’ is celebrated every year in India on July 22. Since its official adoption, the Tricolor has become a symbol of the nation's unity, courage, and aspirations. National Flag Day commemorates India's journey toward becoming a sovereign nation.
The Tricolor symbolizes India's rich cultural heritage, its arduous struggle for independence, and the aspirations of its people for a united and prosperous nation. Our national flag is not only a symbol of the nation's unity, integrity, dignity, pride, strength, ideals, and aspirations, but it also conveys a message of sacrifice and peace to the entire world. It is also a symbol of our freedom, as it played a crucial role in uniting revolutionaries during the freedom struggle. The Tricolor inspired Indians by giving them a message of unity and brotherhood, binding them together to fight against the British. At that time, the honor of the national flag was worth more to the revolutionaries than their own lives; hence, even while bearing the lathis and bullets of the British, they never allowed it to bow down.
Of the three colored stripes on the national flag, the top saffron stripe symbolizes sacrifice, courage, and valor; the middle white stripe symbolizes peace and truth; and the bottom green stripe symbolizes greenery, prosperity, and abundance. The dark blue Ashoka Chakra situated in the middle of the white stripe symbolizes self-reliance. The Ashoka Chakra, featuring 24 spokes, represents the nation's progress, the law of the land, and the wheel of righteousness (Dharma). In the words of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, those who work under this flag will have to follow the principles of truth and virtue. By those working under the national flag, he meant governments and bureaucrats. Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India, also highlighting the importance of the national flag while moving the resolution for the national flag in the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947, stated that all citizens of new India must salute this national flag, and under it, no one will be superior or inferior.
The journey of the national flag began on August 7, 1906. Made of three horizontal stripes of green, yellow, and red, this national flag was hoisted at Parsi Bagan Square in Calcutta. On that flag, the top green stripe had eight white lotuses inscribed in a single line, while the middle yellow stripe had Vande Mataram written in Devanagari script in dark blue, and the bottom red stripe featured a white sun on the left and a white crescent moon and a star on the right. Although this flag, known as the ‘Flag of India’, was designed keeping in mind all religions, communities, and communal harmony of India, it could not gain universal acceptance.
In 1917, the ‘Home Rule Movement’ was launched by Dr. Annie Besant and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. At that time, a new national flag was prepared, which featured a total of 9 parallel and diagonal stripes alternating between red and green. In the middle of that flag were 7 stars, with a crescent moon and star in one corner, while the upper left corner displayed the ‘Union Jack’ (occupying a quarter of the flag). It was precisely due to the inclusion of the Union Jack image that it was rejected by the majority of people, as giving it a place on the national flag was interpreted as an acceptance of British sovereignty by Indian society. Thus, the need was felt for a flag that could represent people of all religions, communities, and ideologies, while also serving as a symbol of devotion unto death for the countrymen.
In 1921, at the Congress session in Vijayawada, a young revolutionary named Pingali Venkayya from Andhra Pradesh presented a flag to Mahatma Gandhi that featured only two stripes of red and green. However, a senior leader from Punjab, Raizada Pandit Hansraj, suggested to Gandhi Ji that a spinning wheel (charkha) should also be depicted on the flag. Accepting this suggestion, Gandhi Ji included saffron for Hindus, green for Muslims, and white for other communities. On December 31, 1929, complete independence (Purna Swaraj) was demanded while hoisting this very tricolor on the banks of the Ravi River.
However, many felt it was inappropriate to associate the national flag with castes, religions, or communities. Therefore, in 1931, the Karachi Congress formed a seven-member committee to determine the design of the national flag. The committee suggested a single-colored (saffron) flag with a red spinning wheel mark on the lower left side, which was rejected by the All India Congress Committee. Subsequently, a meeting of senior Congress leaders was held under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, wherein the Tricolor flag itself was granted official recognition with the spinning wheel on the middle white stripe, and that decision was unanimously accepted. Crucially, the colors of the three stripes were accepted based on their qualities rather than being linked to any religion or community. The flag's proportions were set at a length-to-width ratio of 3:2.
In 1924, freedom fighter Shyamlal Gupta ‘Parshad’ composed the flag song, “Vijayi Vishwa Tiranga Pyara, Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara” (Victorious World's Beloved Tricolor, May Our Flag Always Fly High). Mahatma Gandhi accepted it as it was after removing the second and third stanzas. The song was sung collectively for the first time at the Congress convention in Kanpur in 1925. Later, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose also sang it alongside a hundred thousand people, and overnight it became the most popular song among revolutionaries. Be it a Congress convention, a morning procession (Prabhat Pheri), or a revolutionary movement, this flag song came to be sung with great fervor on every such occasion.
A few days before achieving independence, when discussions arose regarding a national flag for independent India as a symbol of India's honor and self-respect, the flag unanimously accepted in 1931 was reconsidered for adoption. However, during a Constituent Assembly meeting on July 22, 1947, Pandit Nehru suggested replacing the spinning wheel with the 24-spoked Ashoka Chakra, symbolizing the nation's progress, the law of the land, and the wheel of Dharma. All members of the Constituent Assembly agreed with this suggestion, and the national flag was accepted in its new form on that very day. Thus, it took a long journey of about 41 years for our national flag to reach its current form.
(The author is an educationist active in the field of teaching for more than 18 Years)
Contact: 114, Gali No. 6/1, Gopal Nagar, M.D. Marg, Najafgarh, New Delhi-110043. Phone: 9034304041.
Email: shweta230283@gmail.com
