As a child, I remember, how happy I was along with scores of other school children every Independence Day — on Aug. 15 — when the national flag fluttered in the sky in our school compound. A sense of festivity prevailed all through the day as children distributed the tiny tri-colors and sweets. Even today, this sense of belonging persists. I often wonder, what is it in the flag — which is otherwise a piece of cloth — that draws so much respect and enthuses pride of nationality among people all over the world. I am not sure, who invented this idea of hoisting or displaying of flags but one thing is certain, flags — whichever country they represent — serve as a great unifying force.
It is said that flags have been in existence for a very long time. The ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and other civilizations from Indus valley used flags in different shapes and sizes. Flags were used on chariots, forts and to earmark one’s territory. They were planted on soil to signify newly annexed land. Flags also lent meaning to diverse segments of societies that included royal families, armies and clans that differentiated themselves with others by adopting the flag of their choice. Some flags signified the struggle, revolution and the ultimate victory.
The Indian history is replete with kings and their kingdoms; hundreds of clans and communities. There was a time when flags fluttered like kites all over. According to historians there were hundreds of princely states during the British occupation, creating all kinds of chaos with their innumerable flags and royal emblems! In the South, Nizams were different from the royal family of Mysore or Travancore while in the North, Rajputs took pride in being distinct from Punjabi warrior clans. The West had Marathas who were quite different from small Gujarati Rajas (kings) while Bengalis had their own groups and communities that dominated the eastern territories. All this was quite in contrast to the British conquerors who remained united under their only flag — the Union Jack.
As the freedom struggle spread across the length and breadth of the country the need for the national unity was felt all over as small kingdoms struggled against the powerful British Army. ‘One flag’ concept was mooted to unify the country. According to the historians, the first Indian flag with the words Vande Mataram inscribed on its horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green was hoisted in Calcutta in 1906. The credit of hoisting the first unified Indian flag — albeit the unrecognized one-on foreign soil goes to Madame Cama in 1907.
The Indian flag went through all kinds of metamorphosis after this. However, the key architect was a young freedom fighter from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, Pingali Venkayya who was given the responsibility of designing the prestigious flag by none other than Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. His flag after considerable review was accepted by the All India Congress and subsequently the country adopted it in 1947. The unified nation saluted the tri-color on Aug. 15, 1947 signifying the end of freedom struggle and the dawn of new era.
The Indian flag is a horizontal tricolor in equal proportion of deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is two is to three. In the center of the white band, there is a wheel in navy blue to indicate the Dharma Chakra, the wheel of law in the Sarnath lion capital.
Its diameter approximates the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes, which intends to show that there is life in movement and death in stagnation. The saffron stands for courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation; the white, for purity and truth; the green for faith and fertility.
The Indian flag is made out of Khadi cloth which Mahatma Gandhi loved to spin during his past time. Individuals and institutions are free to hoist or carry the flag provided they follow certain decorum as spelled out in the flag code. Its production initially took place in small village called Garag in the southern state of Karnataka. Here, a center was established in 1954 by a few freedom fighters who obtained government’s license to make flags. The full-fledged production started from 1972 onward. It is specified that the flag should have one square foot of khadi cloth weighing 205 grams.
