By A.J. Philip
It is now 75 years since India attained independence. Therefore, the Independence Day celebrations have greater relevance this year. There is nothing more symbolic of a nation than its national flag. Every nation considers its national flag as the most sacred object in the country. India is no different in this respect.
India’s national flag has a glorious history. it was not created all of a sudden. In fact, it evolved over a long period of time.That is how it reached its present shape and colours.
India did not become an independent nation one fine morning. Millions of people had to struggle for freedom over many decades under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and many others. Many people had to sacrifice their lives for the cause of freedom. The citizens had to pay a heavy price for the independence, attained on August 15 1947.
While struggling for freedom, the freedom fighters wanted to carry a flag that symbolised the ethos of the nation and the aspirations of the people at large. Mahatma Gandhi also felt the need for a flag that represented the people of the country.
The job of designing a flag was given to Pingali Venkayya. Initially, he designed a two-colour flag. The red in the flag was to represent the Hindus and the green the Muslims. The flag depicted charkha at the centre to stress the importance of self-reliance for the people of the country.
The design evoked a countrywide debate on the finer aspects of the flag. There was criticism that other communities like the Christians, the Sikhs and the Jains were not represented in the flag. Gandhi too realised that it was a major lapse. Amends were made and the colour White was added to the flag. The colour red was replaced by the deep saffron. The Charkha remained at the centre of the flag.
Sooner than later, the flag found Country wide acceptance. People taking part in the freedom struggle began to hold the flag with a lot of pride. In due course, the flag became a symbol of resistance to the foreign rule. Little surprise, the tri-colour became an eyesore for the British. Anyone holding or hoisting the flag was considered an enemy of the foreign rulers.
When the British were compelled to declare a date to grant Independence to India, National leaders thought of having a national flag for the new country. Unfortunately, a decision had by then been taken to divide the country into two on religious grounds. Without going into the merits of the partition, let us remember that it brought about one of the largest migrations of people with millions losing their lives on the way.
The constituent assembly was already in place and a committee was constituted to suggest a flag that would be acceptable to the whole country. Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr B.R. Ambedkar were some of the members. The committee’s recommendation was discussed threadbare in the constituent assembly. The many suggestions made were either accepted or rejected by the members.
Finally, on July 22, 1947 the constituent assembly adopted the tricolour as the national flag and it has been used since then. The spinning wheel which was part of the Swaraj flag was replaced by the 24-spoke wheel, adapted from the Ashok Sthamb, used by the great emperor Ashoka.
When the constituent assembly adopted the flag on July 22 Jawaharlal Nehru displayed two specimen flags to the members present. One was made of khadi cotton and the other made of khadi silk. It was horizontal in shape with saffron, white and green stripes in equal size and proportion.
The Ashok Chakra was depicted in blue. The Indian flag, therefore, has four colours, though it is known as the tricolour. In fact, the word ‘tricolour’ is used only for the national flag.
There is a National Flag code which has to be followed by one and all while using the national flag. It specifies the proportion in which the three colours have to be used. It also specifies the proportion in which the Ashoka Chakra has to be depicted.
It also says how the flag has to be hoisted and lowered. It also says how a torn or faded or discoloured flag has to be burnt, not buried.
The citizens were allowed to use the flag only on special days like Independence Day and the Republic Day. Only certain officials like the President of India, Central ministers, governors and high constitutional authorities like the Chief Justice of India were entitled to use the flag on all days.
A businessman, Mr Naveen Jindal, went to the Supreme Court in 2002 seeking permission to use the flag on all days. The plea was granted subject to the flag code.
The people have been permitted to use the flag on all days since the Supreme Court verdict. Subsequently, the flag code was amended to make The use of the flag more liberal. Earlier, only Khadi could be used in the making of the national flag. The amended flag code allows the people to use synthetic cloth like polyester for making flags.
The three colours in the flag are no longer described in terms of religion. India’s former President, Dr S. Radhakrishnan, described the flag in the Constituent Assembly in these words and they are worth quoting:
“Bhagwa or the saffron colour 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 soil, our relation to the plant life here on which all other life depends. The Ashoka Wheel 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 principles 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.”
Writer is a senior journalist