Flag of India
The Indian National Flag is also known as the tiranga, which in Hindi means tricolor.
Saffron, White and Green
The Indian National Flag is a horizontal tricolor of saffron at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom. The ratio of the width of the flag to its length is 2:3. The center of the white band consists of a navy blue wheel, known as the chakra. It is also known as the Ashoka Chakra. The diameter of the chakra approximates to the width of the white band and has twenty-four spokes. The official adaptation of the flag requires it to be on a cotton, silk or woolen cloth and for the yarn to be handspun.
The Indian National Flag was designed by a freedom fighter called Pingali Venkayya. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly during an ad hoc meeting on July 22, 1947. Display and use of the flag are strictly enforced by the Indian Flag Code.
The Indian National Flag is also markedly different from the flag adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1920. The Indian National Congress flag was similar in color to the present day Tiranga, but differed in that it contained a charaka or spinning wheel instead of the dharma chakra of the present day Tiranga. These two flags also differed in symbolism. The saffron of the Indian National Congress flag represented the Hindu religion, green Islam, and the white their peace and unity. There is no official adaptation of symbolism for the Indian National Flag.
However, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, India's soon to be second president, described its significance in the Constituent Assembly, as follows:
“Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation of disinterestedness.
Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate
themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path
of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to soil,
our relation to the plant life here on which all other life depends.
The Ashoka Wheel in the center of the white is the wheel of the law of
dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling
principles of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes
motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement.
India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward.
The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.”
The Tiranga has been an influence in the January 15, 2002, citizens of India could hoist the tiranga throughout the year. Earlier they could only do so on special days such as the Republic Day and Independence Day.
While the Supreme Court had observed that restrictions of flying the national flag appeared prima facie unsustainable, the Delhi High Court had ruled that the display of the tiranga was part of the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Links
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- - History of the Indian flag (with pictures of earlier flags)
