India@75 | The several milestones in the evolution of the Indian Flag

75 Years of Independence: A patriotic feeling and euphoria overcomes Indians every time our National Flag is hoisted. It is not only a symbol of pride and mark of a free country but is also recognised as something to live and to die for. 

Saffron at the top, white in the middle with the navy blue chakra (wheel) and green at the bottom- this is how we know the tricolour today.

Little do we know that the Indian National Flag has sailed through vicissitudes of time and several political and national developments. 

Let’s take a look at how its changed through time to become the tricolour we now know:

The first Flag was hoisted on August 7th, 1906 in the Parsee Bagan Square in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Believed to have been designed by freedom activists Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo, the flag had horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green, with Vande Mataram written in the middle. The red stripe had symbols of the sun and a crescent moon while the green stripe had eight half-open lotuses. 

The second Flag was very similar to the first flag but the top band had seven stars denoting the Saptarishi. This flag was hoisted in Paris by Madame Cama and exiled revolutionaries in 1907. 

The third Flag was hoisted in 1917 by Dr Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak during the Home rule movement. The flag constituted of five red and four green horizontal stripes with seven stars in Saptarishi formation. 

The fourth Flag was adopted in 1921 and comprised of two colours- red and green- representing the Hindu and Muslim communities. Mahatama Gandhi added the white stripe representing the rest of the communities and the spinning wheel as a mark of the nation’s progress. 

The fifth Flag was initially the battle ensign of the Indian National Army. In 1931, a resolution was passed for the adoption of the tricolour as the National Flag. The flag featured stripes of saffron, white and green with Mahatama Gandhi’s spinning wheel at the center. 

The sixth flag was similar to the one designed in 1931, except the Dharma Charkha of Emperor Ashoka replaced the spinning wheel. On July 22, 1947, it was adopted as the Free India National Flag. This variation of the flag is how we know our National Flag today. 

Also Watch: India@75: Do you know about the Flag Code of India?