The Story Behind the Indian National Flag

India’s struggle for freedom is widely known, but the evolution of the flag of India is less well known. The Indian flag is very special. It has bright and beautiful colors. But there is more to its nice design. The flag is not just about looking pretty, but has a big story behind it.

Our flag shows how strong and brave the people of India are. The flag stands for never giving up, even when things are hard. Please read this blog by Vivek International Public School, the best CBSE School in Baddi, Nalagarh, and Barotiwala, till the end to get familiar with the evolution and the lesser-known facts about the flag of India

Indian National Flag

The Indian National Flag is called the Tricolour. The word “tri” means three. This is because the flag has three colors in it. The three colors are saffron, green, and white. Saffron is like an orange colour.

The saffron colour is at the very top of the flag. It is the first colour you see. The green colour is at the very bottom of the flag. The white colour sits in the middle. It is right between the saffron and the green.

The flag of India has a special size rule. The length and the width of the flag must follow a ratio. This ratio is 2:3. This means for every 2 parts of width, there are 3 parts of length. This keeps the flag looking neat and balanced.

There is one more important thing on the flag. In the middle white strip, there is a wheel. This wheel is navy blue in colour and is called an “Ashok Chakra.” The Ashok Chakra has 24 spokes, and it sits right in the centre of the white part of the flag.

What do the colours of the Tricolour represent?

• The topmost colour in the national flag, saffron, represents courage and strength.
• The middle colour, white, signifies peace and truth.
• The bottom colour, green, indicates growth, auspiciousness and fertility.

The wheel or chakra in the middle of the Indian flag represents truth, virtue and dharma. It is taken from the lion capital of Ashoka, erected at a pillar in Sarnath near Varanasi.

History and Evolution of the Indian National Flag

History of Indian National Flag is closely tied to the struggle for India's independence. Here are some significant events related to the Indian National Flag:

• It is said that the first Indian National Flag was hoisted in Green Park (Parsee Began Square) in Calcutta on August 7th 1906. It contained three horizontal strips of blue, yellow, and red. Vande Mataram was written in the middle strip, and the red strip carried a sun and crescent moon. The unfurling of this flag also has significant political and historical importance. The British government wanted to divide Bengal into two parts along religious lines. The flag was hoisted to oppose the decisive policy of the British government.

• Madam Cama hoisted the second Indian National Flag in Paris on August 22, 1907. It is believed that prominent Indian freedom fighters Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Shyamjii Krishna Verma, and Madam Cama collectively designed it. This was the first time the Indian flag unfurled in a foreign land. This day holds great significance. The flag was similar to the first flag, but the colour was modified- Green at the top, golden saffron at the middle and red at the bottom.

• The third flag was unfurled by Lokmanya Tilak and Dr Annie Besant during the home rule movement. It contained seven strips in the "Saptarishi" configuration and four green and give red strips. In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi asked Pingali Venkayya to design the national flag with a chakra.

• During the Indian national congress committees, Pingali presented the flag with two colours- Red and green. However, Mahatma Gandhi suggested adding a white colour strip to the flag. In 1931, the flag was slightly modified; the Red colour was replaced by saffron, and a white strip was added to the middle of the flag with a spinning wheel.

• The existing national flag was mostly similar to the flag in 1931, with one exception: the spinning wheel was replaced with the Ashoka Chakra. Indian national flag was adopted on July 22, 1947, by the Constituent Assembly of India.

Less-known facts about the Indian national flag

• The only authorised centre for the production of the Indian National Flag, Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha, is located at Bengeri in Hubballi. It was founded on November 1st, 1957, but its manufacturing unit started in 2004. In 2006, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified KKGSS, and it  received the Award of Excellence in the same year.

• Indian national flag must be made from Khadi, a fabric that Mahatma Gandhi promoted during the freedom struggle; The flag must also be hand woven and hand spun.

• Indian national flag was first hoisted by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary on Mount Everest on May 29th, 1953, along with the Nepalese, Northern Ireland and United Kingdom national flags.

• In 2018, India set a world record in forming the largest human flag. Over 50,000 people gathered in Chennai to form the national flag.

• The tallest Indian national flag is in the town of Faridabad. It is 250 feet in height and can be seen from a considerable distance.

• The Indian government introduced the flag code of India in 2002, which outlines protocols for handling the national flag.

• During important national holidays like independence day and republic day, the national flag should be flown on all government buildings. Educational institutions such as colleges and schools are also encouraged to hoist the national flag on national holidays.

Read Also: National Symbols of India: History & Significance

The bottom line

Our national flag is very important to us. It is a symbol of sacrifice, unity, and resilience. Sacrifice means giving up something important for a good reason. Many brave people gave up their lives so that India could be free. Unity means coming together as one. It means all people of India standing together, no matter their differences. Resilience means staying strong, even during hard and difficult times.

The history of our flag is truly amazing. It is filled with interesting stories that inspire us to do something for the nation and its people. This story also teaches us a lesson. It reminds us that we must keep working hard. We must work towards making our future bright and better. Just like the people before us worked hard for freedom, we must also work hard for a good future.

We are proud to be the best CBSE school in Baddi and believe in something very strongly. We believe that all students should learn about our nation’s history. Also, the students of our school and others should know about the inspiring story of the flag of India. This knowledge will help them grow into proud and aware citizens of India.