On August 15, 1947, the nation declared its independence from the 200-year British rule. Independence Day in India is a tribute to the sacrifice, and a celebration of unity.
The National Flag of India was adopted in its present form during the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on the 22 July 1947. Let's take a look at its evolution.
This is the first national flag of India which is widely known as the Calcutta flag. It was hoisted on August 7, 1906, in the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park) in Calcutta now Kolkata.
The ‘Flag Of Indian Independence’ was raised by Bhikaji Cama on August 22, 1907 at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany.
The third flag went up in 1917 when Dr Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak hoisted it during the Home rule movement.
During the 1921 All India Congress Committee meeting in Bezwada (now Vijayawada), an Andhra youth presented a flag to Gandhiji with two colors: red and green, symbolizing Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji proposed adding a white strip to represent all of India's communities and a spinning wheel for the nation's progress.
The year 1931 was a landmark in the history of the flag. A resolution was passed adopting a tricolor flag as our national flag.
On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted this as the Free Indian National Flag. The top band of Saffron colour, indicated the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicated peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The last band is green in colour showing the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. Dharma Charkha of Emperor Asoka was adopted in place of the spinning wheel as the emblem on the flag.
This year, India will be celebrating 76 years of independence on August 15, 2023.