AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, PUSHP VIHAR

HISTORY OF INDIAN FLAG

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLOURS OF THE FLAG:

Saffron: Saffron is a symbol of courage and sacrifice.

White: The white colour represents honesty, peace and purity. It highlights the importance of
maintaining peace in the country.
Green: The green colour represents faith and chivalry. It is a symbol of prosperity, vibrancy and
life. 
Ashoka Chakra: The Ashoka Chakra or the Dharma Chakra (Wheel of Law) has 24 spokes and
appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka. 

HISTORY OF INDIAN NATIONAL FLAG

1. The flag came into being in its present form at the meeting of Constitutional Assembly
on 22 July 1947.
2. Since then it has served as the National Flag of the Dominion of India from 15 August
1947 to 26 January 1950 and, thereafter, as the national flag of the Republic of India.
3. The Indian National Flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya and contains three equal
strips of saffron, white and green.

THE HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL FLAG OVER THE YEARS:

1904-06: 1. It was between 1904 and 1906 that the first Indian flag came into being.
2. It was made by an Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda. Her name was Sister Nivedita It
had the words "Bonde Matoram" in Bengali written on it.
Indian flag in 1906: It was a tricolour with three equal strips of blue (top), yellow (middle)
and red (lower). In this flag the blue strip had eight stars of slightly different shapes.
The red strip had two symbols, one of sun and the other of a star and a crescent. The
yellow strip had 'Vande Mataram' written on it in Devnagiri script.

Indian flag in 1907: 1.In 1907 came the Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama's flag.
2. The flag was collectively designed by Madam Bhikaji Cama, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Veer
Savarkar) and Shyamji Krishna Varma.
3. The flag was unfurled by Madam Cama on 22 August 1907 at Stuttgrat, Germany, and
attained the status of the first Indian flag to be hoisted at a foreign land.
4. The flag consisted of three colours- the topmost being green followed by golden saffron
in the middle and the red colour at the bottom.

1916:1. In 1916 Pingali Venkayya, a writer and a geophysicist, designed a flag with the
intention to bring the whole nation together.
 2. He met Mahatma Gandhi and sought his approval. Mahatma Gandhi suggested him
to incorporate a charkha as a symbol of economic regeneration of India, in the flag.
3.Pingali created the flag from hand spun yarn 'Khadi'. The flag had two colours and a
'Charkha' drawn across them.
4.Mahatma Gandhi did not approve of it as he was of the opinion that red represented the
Hindu community and green Muslims, but the other communities of India were not
represented in the flag.

Indian Flag in 1917 : 1.The Home Rule League formed by Bal

Gangadhar Tilak adopted a new flag in 191.
2.The flag had the union jack at the top, near the
hoist. The rest of the flag contained five red and four blue strips.
3. It had seven stars on it in the shape of 'Saptarishi' constellation
which is supposed to be the sacred one for Hindus.
4. This flag did not gain popularity among the masses.

Indian Flag in 1921:

1. As Mahatma Gandhi wanted all the communities of India to be represented in the flag of the
nation, a new flag was designed
2. At the top was white then green and at the bottom was red. White symbolised minority
communities of India, green Muslims and the red represented Hindu and Sikh communities.

3.The 'Charkha' was drawn across all the bands symbolising the unification of these
communities.

4.It was widely used as a symbol of nationalism in India's freedom struggle.

Indian Flag in 1931:

1.Some people were not happy with the communal interpretation of the
flag
2. A new flag was designed which replaced red with ochre. This colour
signified the combined spirit of both religions as saffron was the colour of
Hindu yogis as well as Muslim darvesh.
3. But the Sikh community also demanded a separate representation in
the flag or the complete abandonment of religious colours.
4. This resulted in another flag by Pingali Venkayya. This new flag had three colours. Saffron was at the
top followed by white in the middle and green at the bottom. The 'Charkha' was placed at the center.
 5. This flag was passed at the meeting of Congress Committee in 1931 and was adopted as the official
flag of the Committee.

Indian Flag in 1947:1. When India got independence, a committee

headed by Rajendra Prasad was formed to select the National Flag of India.
2. The committee decided to adopt the flag of Indian National Congress,
with suitable modifications, as the flag of independent India.
3. As a result, the flag of 1931 was adopted as Indian flag but 'Charkha'
in the middle was replaced by 'Chakra' (wheel) and hence our National Flag
came into being. 

British India Flag 1858-1947:

1. This flag introduced by British India in 1858.
2. It was similar to flags of other British colonies, including
Canada and Australia.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The flag is a national symbol and is respected by every Indian. There are certain dos and don'ts
laid down for common people regarding the flag:
 When the National Flag is raised the saffron colour band should be at the top.
 No flag or emblem should be placed either above the National Flag or to its right.
 All other flags are to be placed to the left of the National Flag if they are hung in a line.
 When the National Flag is carried out in a procession or parade, it shall be on the marching
right or in front of the center of the line, if there is a line of other flags.
 Normally the National Flag should be flown over important government buildings like the
Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Parliament House, the Supreme Court of India, the High Courts, the
Secretariats, the Commissioners' office etc.
 The National Flag or any imitation of it must not be used for purpose of trade, business, or
profession.
 The National Flag should always be taken down in the evening at sunset.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS

 Designed by: Pingali Venkayya

 Adopted: 22 July 1947
 The Indian flag was hoisted on the highest mountain peak of the world, Mount Everest
on 29 May 1953.
 Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama was the first person to hoist Indian flag on foreign soil on
22 August 1907 in Stuttgrat, Germany.
 The Indian National Flag flew to space in 1984 when Wing Commander Rakesh became
the first Indian to travel to space. The flag was attached as a medallion on the space suit
of Rakesh Sharma.
 The National Flag hoisted at Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi, is one of the
largest in India. It is 90 feet in length, 60 feet in width and is hoisted on a flagpole of 207
feet.
 India holds the world record for the largest human flag which was formed by 50,000
volunteers in Chennai in December 2014.