Facts About National Flag of India
The national flag, this is not just a symbol for a country, it is the pride, the honor and the respect that a country bears with this national flag. Each and every country has their very own national flag and that symbolizes the free and independent county, the rules and regulations the country has attained. According to the statements of Mahatma Gandhi, the flag is a necessity for all the nations. Now that being said, in this article, we are going to discuss about the complete history of our Indian national Flag.
The Indian national Flag is rectangular in shape and this shape was attained in the year 1947. As we all are aware about the colors of the flag, the middle white color comprises of Ashoke Chakra, which is also known as the wheel of law. This wheel has 24 spokes within it. This present shape, color and format of the national flag were designed in the first constituent assembly of the year 1947. With the three colors present in the flag it was also known as the Tiranga. This was based on the Swaraj Flag that was created by Pingali Venkayya.
The national flag of India means a lot to each and every Individual of India. Hoisting the national flag is a mark of respect. The cloth of this flag is prepared from a special cloth called Khadi. And this cloth was actually a material that was prepared by Mahatma Gandhi by his own hand. The Bureau of Indian standards manufactures and designs the national flag every year but the Khadi development and Village Industries have taken up the responsibility to manufacture the national flag now. This was in the year 2009.
The evolution of national flag
It is really amazing to see the evolution of the tri-color of the Indian Flag starting from its inception. This color and patterns was discovered during the national struggles and freedoms. This flag had to undergo a lot of changes to become what it is now today. In one form it also depicts the political change and developments within our nation. Now that being said, here are some historical milestones that are associated with the evolution of the national flag:
In India the first national flag was hoisted in the year 1906. It was dated on August 7th. It was done on the Parsee Bagan in Kolkata which is popularly known as the Green Park of Kolkata. During that period the flag had only 3 colors, or rather three horizontal strips. Those were red, yellow and green. After that the second version of the flag was amended. This was hoisted in Paris and it was really a proud moment of India. Madame Cama and her exiled band of revolutionaries were the major forces behind this event in Paris. The color of this flag was similar to the first one apart d from the fact that the top strip had one lotus and seven stars that denoted the Saptarshi. This flag was also hoisted at the socialist conference of Berlin.
After this, the political struggle took a different turn, a positive one and this is the time when the third modification of the flag was made. Dr. Annie Besant and Lokamaya Tilak hoisted the modified version of the flag. Now this was the time when the flag was had five red strips and four green horizontal strips. But these strips were arranged alternatively. There were seven stars which were called Saptarshi and these were present at the top left hand corner that had the Union Symbol. A white crescent star which was present at the corner.
It was the suggestion of Gandhi to create a white strip between the two colors to represent the peace between these two communities and the rotating wheel the mark the progress of the nation. And the year 1931 saw the landmark in history where it was finally notified that this tri color will be the national flag of our country.
In July 22, 1947, the constituent assembly adopted the free national flag of India. While there is a certain code for the national flag of India and this code is related to the usage of the national flag and the laws related to the national emblem. Previously the usage of national flag by the citizens of India was completely prohibited but in the year 2002 with the request of Naveen Jindal, it was made available that the private citizens shall be allowed to make use of the National flag in case of certain specific incidents. The law was altered again in the year 2005 for some additional usage of the citizens. India is a land of so many rivers and this is why Indian is one of the most fertile countries of the world. This is a symbol for protecting our motherland from destruction by both internal and external entities.
What are the Indian flag codes?
There are certain Indian flag codes. The Indian National flag can be hoisted anywhere and everywhere now days but those who are hoisting the national flags need to follow certain regulations. The flag code is divided into three parts. The first part is for the general description of the national flag, the second part comprises of the devotion towards national flag by the private and public organizations, educational institutions. And finally the third part displays productive nature and progress of our nation through central and state government organizations and agencies.
There are certain rules and regulations that need to be followed for the hoisting the flag and this has been specifically mentioned within the legislature. They are as follows:
The DO’s
The national flag can be hoisted in different educational institutions, sports camps and scouts for encouraging and inspiring people about the country. This not only motivates people but also generates respect for the national flag. But the organization needs to swear on the oath of allegiance that is included while hoisting the flag on the organization.
Any public or private organization can hoist the flag on any days or occasions keeping the dignity, honor and consistency of the national flag constant. The section 2 of the new code accepts right for all the private citizens for flying the flag on their premises as long as the honor of the flag is maintained.
The DONT’s
There are certain Don’ts that you need to follow for using the national flag. And those are:
The flag cannot be used for any communal purposes, whatever are the reasons or issue, and it will NEVER be used for any communal purposes. Apart from communal gains, the flag design cannot be worn as clothes or drapery. As far as possible the flag should be blown from sunrise to the sunset, irrespective of any weather conditions.
The flag cannot be intentionally allowed to fall or touch the ground, floor or water. It cannot be draped over the hood, top or sides of any vehicle, boats or trains.
No other flag or bunting can be placed in higher positions than this flag. At the same time no other objects, including the flowers, garlands or any emblems cannot be placed higher than this flag. The tri-color cannot be used as the festoon, bunting or rosette.
The significance of Ashoke Chakra
Well, as we have already known that there are 24 strokes available in Ashoke Chakra. This 24 number is considered as the really lucky one in the Ashoke Chakra and the Puranas. This is also considered as the Dharma Chakra or the Samay Chakra and this 24 represents the 24 precious hours of a day. Keeping the Ashoka Chakra in the middle signifies a lot for the Indians. And this has also got a great history. After Lord Buddha attained the nirvana in Gaya, he turned to Sarnath. It was in Varanasi where he met with the five disciples and to them, Lord Buddha taught them about the sermon describing and distributing the Dharmachakra. This preaching was later taken up by lord Ashoka which was known as the Ashoka Chakra. The presence of Ashoka Chakra indicates the strong bond of nation that comprises of Buddhist Faith. The first 12 strokes incorporate the teachings of Lord Buddha while the other 12 preaches about the equivalent symbols. Now the next question that comes to our mind is why the Ashoke Chakra is Blue/Navy blue in color?
The history of the Indian national flag
While we have known that Pingali Venkayya was the creator of the Indian national flag, now we are going to know more in details about the color and design of the Indian flag. The national flag has been designed in a horizontal shape and in this shape all the three colors are given in just the perfect proportion. The ration of width to length of the flag is 2:3. While the first time the national flag was hoisted, it was actually just the summation of the three colors red, yellow and green. The uppermost green color comprised of the 8 lotus flowers while the center part had “vande Mataram” written on it. And the red color that was present on the lowermost portion, comprised of the crescent and the Sun. While the second time the flag was hoisted there were 7 stars below and one lotus flower above.
When the flag was designed as the tri color it is now, Mahatma Gandhi added the design of the wheel within the white part of the flag. And that wheel was not like the Ashoke Chakra as it is now; it was more like the cotton wheel that he used to work with. That wheel denoted the progress of the nation. But finally it was remodified with the presence of Ashoke Chakra in it. Finally it was in 1947 that the spinning wheel was provided with the title of Dharma Chakra. And the King Ashoka was the emblem of the national flag. And this was finally the national flag of India. The Indian national flag has been the hope and aspiration of a huge number of army personnel and they have never failed to protect the honor and dignity of the national flag even by sacrificing their lives for the nation. The Tiranga maintains its full glory till date. In the year 2002, the national flag code of came into effect. This was merged with the “Provision of Emblems and names act, 1950” for the prevention of any insult and improper use to the flag. And finally the code of national flag came into effect in 26th January 2002.
The regulations for the making of Indian national flag
All the rules and laws for the usage of national flag have been mentioned above. According to the regulations of the making of national flag, if someone uses any other material other than the Khadi or the hand-spun cloth for the preparation of the national flag is punishable. The punishment includes an imprisonment for 3 years and an additional fine. So no other materials like cotton, silk or other clothing materials other than the hand spun cloths can be used for the preparation of the national flag. Only the raw materials of Khadi can be of silk, wool or cotton. The flag is generally prepared from the two types of Khadi clothes. One is the Khadi bunting for the preparation of the body of the flag. And the second one is known as the Khadi Duck. The Khadi duck is used for the preparation of the body of the flag. This is a beige colored cloth, for the preparation of the ends of the flag that holds the pole. At the same time there are restrictions for the making of the flag related to the threads and number of times the thread can be used. There will only be 150 threads per square centimeter, four threads can be used per stitch and also the weight of one square foot cloth is only 205gm.
A few additional details about the Indian national flag
While the national flag is hoisted at any organizations, it is necessary to follow the pledge of commitment. The size of Ashoke Chakra is not specifically mentioned within the flag code and this chakra has been defined by Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan as the representative of the Dharma and the Law. The only unit in India that is authorized for the production and preparation of the National Flag is the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga, Samyukta Sangha that is based on Hubli.
In Maharashtra, at the top of the building of Mantralaya building, lays the largest flag of India. This building is for the state government, it’s the headquarters. The largest flag of Indian is blown by the Maharashtra government at the top of their Mantralaya building. In the original flag code, there was no provision for any individuals to hoist the Indian flag or touch it. This became only possible after the amendment of the codes. If in case any other flag is hoisted with the Indian flag, the Indian flag should always be at the first. When any foreign dignitary is travelling by a car provided by Indian government, then, the Indian flag should be always present at the right hand side, while the flag of the country of the foreign dignitary shall be on the left hand side. In the year 1953, the Indian flag was hoisted at the peak of Mount Everest along with the Nepalese flag.
In the year 1971, the Indian national flag went into the space on Apollo 15. It once again went into the space with medallion Rakesh Sharma, the cosmonaut wing commander Rakesh Sharma at the time of Indo-Soviet joint space flight of April 1984. Though the original lag code did not allow any individual to wear the flag’s design and decoration as clothing. But later it was again modified and stated that usage of the flag design below the waist, undergarments, handkerchiefs, and pillowcases shall be considered as forbidden.
The Indian national flag has the world record in Guinness book for the creation of the largest human flag. The total number of participants for that human flag was 43830. And this was made possible by the Rotary International District, News 7 Tamil. The combined attempt of these two organizations made this possible. The incident took place in the YMCA grounds in Nandanam in Chennai. And the event took place on 7th December 2014.
The largest Indian National flag is at Delhi, near central park Connaught place. During any government meetings, it is taken care that the flag is present at the right hand side of Loksabha Speaker. And this will also be followed in case of any meetings, indoors or outdoors. In case the situation is not in meetings or the Loksabha, the flag will be directed towards the audience of the gathering.
| SL NO | Important facts to remember | Brief details |
| 1. | Ashoke Chakra | Even though the size is not specified, it must be evenly spaced between the 24 strokes. |
| 2. | Pingali Venkayya | Pingali Venkayya not only designed the flag but he was also a freedom fighter, educationist and agriculturalist. |
| 3. | The designs details of the Indian national flag |
Saffron brightness must be 21.5
White brightness must be 72.6 And the India Green brightness must be 8.9 |
| 4. | Half mast flag | The flag is half mast during any nationwide mourning. It is half mast at the death of the president, the prime minister and the Vice president. But the Indian flag cannot be flown half mast on the Republic day, Independence day and Gandhi Jayanti. |
The significance of Indian Flag
| SL NO | Tiranga Flag Size | The structural description of the largest Indian National Flag |
| Height | 90 feet | |
| Width | 60 feet | |
| Weight | 37 Kilograms | |
| Location | On top of a 207 feet high mast in Delhi. |
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