National Flag of India

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About the National Flag of India

The National Flag of India was officially adopted on July 22, 1947; initially designed by Pinkali Venkayya.

The saffron symbolizes strength and courage, while, white represents peace and truth. The green colour denotes fertility and growth.
Ashoka Chakra: Navy blue wheel with 24 spokes, representing the eternal nature of law and order.
Ratio: Rectangular with a 3:2 length-to-width ratio.

Sister Nivedita designed the first national flag of India in 1904. It was designed using two colours: yellow and red. In the centre, the symbol of ‘Vajra’, signifying strength, and a white lotus, showing purity, were depicted. The Bengali word “Bande Mataram” was written on it.

In 1906, during the Swadeshi and Boycott struggle, the Indian flag was hoisted for the first time in Parsee Bagan Square in Calcutta.
The flag was reportedly designed by Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo. It consisted of three horizontal strips of green, yellow and red, with Vande Mataram written in the middle. The green strip had eight half-open lotuses, and the red strip had symbols of the sun and a crescent moon.

Madam Bhikaji Cama hoisted an Indian flag on 22nd August 1907 at the International Socialist Congress Summit in Stuttgart, Germany. This was the first time an Indian flag had been hoisted in a foreign land.
The flag was a rectangular tricolour consisting of green, saffron and red.
- The upper green strip had eight lotus flowers to represent eight Indian provinces of the pre-independence period, and the flag name “saptarishi” represented the seven sages of ancient India.
- The middle strip was saffron in colour and had “Vande Mataram” written in the Devanagari script.
- The bottom strip was red in colour, with a rising sun on the left and a crescent moon on the right end, representing India’s major religious communities.

In 1917, Dr Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak adopted a new flag as part of the Home Rule Movement.
The flag had five alternating red and four green horizontal stripes, with seven stars arranged in the saptarishi configuration. One top corner was occupied by a white crescent and star, while the other had the Union Jack.
It signified autonomous rule for Indians within the Colonial Empire.

The design of the present Indian flag is attributed to Pingali Venkayya.
In 1921, at the Vijayawada Congress session, Pingali Venkayya presented a design of a flag to Mahatma Gandhi. The flag consisted of three stripes – red, white and green, representing multiple communities living in harmony in India.
A spinning wheel was superimposed in the centre, signifying the country’s progress.
In 1931, a formal resolution adopted Pingali Vekaiah’s flag with a slight modification: it replaced the red strip of Venkayya’s flag with saffron. The saffron was for courage, white for peace and green for fertility and growth.
Finally, on 22 July 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted the flag of India. The spinning wheel was replaced by the Dharma Chakra of Emperor Ashoka, symbolising truth and life. This came to be called the Tiranga.

The Flag Code of India (2002) governs its display and use.
Article 51A(a) mandates respect for the flag and anthem.
Under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, offenses related to the flag or anthem result in a 6-year election disqualification.