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Indian Flag
The Indian flag, popularly known as the ‘Tiranga’ which means tricolour, is the national flag of India. Its colour scheme is saffron, white, and green, in this order from top to bottom in a rectangular shape with a little bit of navy blue in the middle on the Ashok Chakra. The Ashok Chakra has 24 spokes. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag of the Indian national congress which was designed by Pingali Venkayya.
Significance of the flag
The first proposal of the flag was that of a red and green striped flag with the ‘charkha’ in the middle. The red strips were for Hindus and green for the Muslims. The charkha was placed in the middle to shed light on Gandhi’s goal of making India self-reliant by manufacturing their clothes. The red stripes were later changed to saffron and a white strip was included between the two colours to represent the other religions. Another reason for adding the colour white in the middle was to symbolise peace between the communities. These meanings were later replaced with new meanings: courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively to prevent any sectarian links with the colour scheme. The green in the flag also shows the fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land.
The 24 spokes of the Dharma chakra reflect the 24 Himalayan rishis, with Vishvamitra being the first and Yajnavalkya being the last. The Ashoka Chakra is also known as the Samay chakra in which the 24 spokes represent 24 hours of the day and is the symbol of the movement of the time.
While drafting the Indian Constitution, the Constituent Assembly had decided that the flag which shall be adopted as the Indian Flag must be acceptable to all communities. While finalising the Indian Flag, the ‘charkha’ was replaced by the Ashok Chakra which represents the eternal wheel of law. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later went on to become India's first Vice President and second President, clarified the adopted flag and described its significance as follows:
“Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or 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 (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra '' in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or Satya, dharma, or virtue ought to be the controlling principle 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.”
Display and Usage
Display and usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India, 2002 (successor to the Flag Code – India,); the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950; and the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971.
The Flag Code of India, 2002 is divided into three parts:
General description of the tricolour.
Rules on display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions.
Rules for display of the flag by governments and government bodies.
The First part of the code, lays down the specifics of the Indian Flag. It includes specifics like, the shape of the flag, colours to be used, proportion in relation to its length and height ( 3:2 ), standard dimensions of the flag, as well as the process of manufacturing, including the type of cloth to be used.
The Second and Third part of the Code goes into extreme details regarding the display and usage of the Indian flag by every entity. It also includes provisions regarding half mast, which provides that The only time the flag should be flown at half-mast is during times of grief. The Indian President, who also chooses the length of the mourning period, has the authority to make such decision. The flag must first be raised to the top of the mast before being slowly lowered to the point of half-mast. All other flags are flown at normal heights except for the Indian flag, which is flown at half mast.
But during normal times, no other flag shall be at the same height as the Indian flag. The Indian flag, must always be masted higher than any other flag. Also, no other object, including flowers or garlands shall be placed on or above the mast on which the Indian Flag is flown.
Little Known facts
By law, the Indian flag is to be made of Khadi. ( Part I, 1.2 of the Flag Code of India, 2002 )
The Flag is to be hoisted as per the law based on the 26th January 2002 legislation.
The Indian flag was adopted on 22nd July 1947. Less than a month before India achieved Independence on 15th August 1947.
On August 7, 1906, the first Indian flag was raised in Calcutta's Parsi Bagan Square. It was made up of three horizontal green, yellow, and red stripes.
Tenzing Norgay hoisted the Indian national flag on Mount Everest for the first time on 29 May 1953.
Following the case of Union of India v. Naveen Jindal (2004), the Union of India amended the flag code which finally gave the citizens of India the right to hoist the flag at any time and not just on a national day as per the provisions of the flag code.
As per the flag code, the flag must be hoisted during the daytime and there should be no flag or any other symbolic representation above it.
Insults to the national flag, including gross affronts or indignities to it, as well as using it in a manner so as to violate the provisions of the Flag Code, are punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years, or a fine, or both.
According to Article 51A (a), it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to abide by the national flag.
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Informative and well presented by you! Well effected article.