FLAG OF INDIA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The flag of India is the national symbol that represents this republic of Asia since its independence. It is composed of three horizontal stripes of equal size. The top one is saffron orange, the middle one is white and the bottom one green. In the center of the symbol is a 24-pointed blue wheel called the ashoka chakrá. The flag is known as Tiraṅgā, which means tricolor in Hindi.

The colonial period of the United Kingdom in India was the main precedent where flags of a united India were flown. However, the Indian flag has its origin in the independence movement that began to take shape at the beginning of the 20th century. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya.

India's flag. (User: SKopp, via Wikimedia Commons).

The current symbol is the only one that has been in force since the Dominion of India, in 1947, and two years later with the establishment of the republic. There are various meanings, but saffron is originally associated with sacrifice and courage.

White represents peace and truth, while green does the same, but with chivalry and faith. Its confection can only be done with khadi fabric.

History of the flag

The history of India is millenary and its flags have been present for centuries representing the different states that have occupied the region of the Indian subcontinent. For thousands of years, different dynasties and monarchical systems have had flags and banners to represent them.

The birth of the first states in the Indian subcontinent is classified today under the name of Mahajanapadas, which were constituted as sixteen monarchies and republics in the middle of the first millennium BC.

Much later, between 200 BC and 200 AD, three Tamil dynasties were established in the area, called the Chera, Chola, and Pandya. The flag of the Chola dynasty consisted of a red banner with the figure of a yellow tiger.

Chola dynasty flag. (Vatasura, from Wikimedia Commons).

Instead, that of the Pandya dynasty consisted of a yellow banner. In it the silhouettes of two fish were placed.

Flag of the Pandya dynasty. (Jayarathina, from Wikimedia Commons).

Sultanate of delhi

The political changes in the Indian subcontinent continued to pass for the next millennium, and with them, the flags changed markedly. By the 10th century, nomadic Islamic clans entered India and conquered the territory.

That ended with the founding of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206, which ended up occupying most of the subcontinent. This regime remained open with the Hindu religions, maintaining its influence.

The flag of the sultanate included the green color, traditional of Islam, throughout the cloth. A vertical black stripe intervened over the green one.

Flag of the Sultanate of Delhi. (History of Persia, from Wikimedia Commons).

Mughal Empire

Since the 16th century, Islamic power has been under siege in India. Although also of Persian influence, in 1526 the Mughal Empire was established, which imposed new government practices, establishing a divine loyalty around the figure of the emperor. This empire remained strong in power, finally facing the British Empire.

It is not known for sure what specifically the flag of the Mughal Empire was. This state had several pavilions, which kept the color green. In addition, their favorite symbol was included in them, which was the lion and the sun. However, other flags could simply show a yellow crescent on a green background.

Possible flag of the Mughal Empire. (Orange Tuesday, from Wikimedia Commons).

British Raj

From the eighteenth century different European commercial companies began to settle on the coasts of India. One of those that led these processes was the British East India Company, which quickly expanded its dominance to other business sectors. First, they gained control of Bengal, and by 1820 they managed to control most of India.

In 1858, the British crown came to have direct control of India with the founding of the British Raj. It was at this time that the need for a distinctive symbol for the colony arose, which resulted in the formation of the Star of India endorsed by Queen Victoria.

France and Portugal kept some coastal cities as colonies, but the British were the great power that occupied India until its independence in 1947.

Star of india

The British Raj, a colonial entity of the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent, did not maintain a specific official flag for long.

First, the governors used the flag of the British East India Company, which consisted of the Union Jack in the canton accompanied by a series of red and white horizontal stripes.

Flag of the British East India Company (1801-1858). (No machine-readable author provided. Yaddah assumed (based on copyright claims)., Via Wikimedia Commons).

British colonialism did not have a single flag, but several symbols that were adapted to different situations. Over time, a symbol of its own was established, which consisted of the Order of the Star of India.

This was composed of a silver five-pointed star framed in a blue ribbon with the motto Heaven's light our light (The light of heaven, our guide). Around it, a series of golden wavy lines shaped the symbol. This was used in a blue flag in naval and military vessel cases.

The red background flag with the Union Jack in the canton and the Star of India on the right side was used to represent India internationally. However, the Union Jack remained as the official flag and was lowered after the country's independence.

Flag of the British Raj for international use. (1880-1947). (Barryob, via Wikimedia Commons).

Other European colonial flags

In addition to the United Kingdom, at least four other European countries with colonial settlements were present in the region. One of the first contacts that India had with Europe came from the Portuguese, who, led by Vasco da Gama, explored the region in 1498, discovering a new route to reach Asia.

Since then, the Portuguese conquered Goa, a colonial city that experienced its maximum splendor in the 16th century. Although the Portuguese Empire lost most of its colonial coastal enclaves in the 17th century, it kept Goa, Damán and Diu until 1961, when independent India annexed them.

Symbols of Portuguese India

This colony, in its final years, had a shield with a rudder and a tower as distinctive symbols. Although it was never approved, it was also proposed to add this shield to a Portuguese flag as a symbol of the colony.

Proposed flag of Portuguese India. (Thommy, via Wikimedia Commons).

Dutch colonization

The Netherlands, for its part, began to explore and colonize the coast in the 17th century, clashing with Portugal for control of different colonies. The flag used was that of the Netherlands East India Company, but its colonial rule could not extend beyond the 19th century.

Flag of the Netherlands East India Company. (Himasaram, from Wikimedia Commons).

French India

France also came to India in the 17th century, as did the British. Since 1668 French India was officially founded. These domains had their greatest extension in the 18th century, where they expanded throughout much of the area near the east coast.

By the 19th century, only the cities of Pondichéry, Karikal, Mahé, Yanaon and Chandernagor remained, the latter being the only one without access to the sea.

In 1954 all the colonies were transferred to India, being ratified in 1962. Since the French Revolution, the flag that was used was the French tricolor.

Flag of France. (Par Deutsch: Diese Grafik wurde von SKopp erstellt.English: This graphic was drawn by SKopp.Español: This file was made by user SKopp.Suomi: Tämän grafiikan on piirtänyt SKopp.Filipino: Ginuhit ni SKopp ang grapikong ito.Portugu: Porto This graphic was unpacked using SKopp.Slovenčina: Tento obrázok bol vytvorený redaktorom SKopp.Tagalog: Ginuhit ni SKopp ang grapikong ito., Via Wikimedia Commons).

Formation of the flag of India

The British colonial administration imposed a regime that, although it endowed the region with different infrastructures, was characterized by allowing the emergence of serious famines in the second half of the 19th century. Part of the territory was controlled by princely states, with local monarchs but subordinate to the British crown.

Indian unity in a colony gave rise to a nationalism throughout the region. In time Swaraj emerged, which was the philosophy of self-government in India. The first moment of the independence boom, which was translated into the creation of a new flag, was the First Partition of Bengal.

Calcutta flags

In 1905 there was the First Partition of Bengal. In the east, the British Raj split Bengal in two, separating the predominantly Muslim from the Hindu regions. Indian nationalism was unified and grouped around this decision, and with it the first flags arose.

The tricolor arose with the flag of Calcutta, designed by Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo. The first approach included three stripes of green, yellow and red colors.

In the green one were included eight lotus flowers representing the Indian provinces. The red one included a crescent moon, by Islam, and a sun. In the center, in the yellow one, the expression Vande mataram (I praise you, mother) in Sanskrit was added.

Calcutta flag. (1906). (SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape., From Wikimedia Commons).

Different variants of this flag continued to emerge soon after. In 1907, independence leader Bhikaiji Cama raised the flag of Indian Independence at the Socialist International conference in Stuttgart, Germany.

This changed the colors of the flag to orange, yellow and green. For its part, the orange strip included seven stars representing the Seven Sages.

Flag of the Independence of India. (1907). (SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape., From Wikimedia Commons).

Proposal by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Proposals for the flags continued over time. However, like the previous ones, they did not enjoy popularity. In 1916, leader Pingali Venkayya presented 16 different flag designs for the colony, but none were welcomed by either the British government or the independence movements.

Before that, the Indian Home Rule Movement or League of Self-Government of All India arose. British writer Annie Besant and Indian independence activist Bal Gangadhar Tilak were its promoters.

This can be considered a pre-independence movement that promoted self-government in India. Its duration was between 1916 and 1918, and among its proposals was a flag.

The Home Role Movement flag kept the Union Jack in the canton. The rest were divided into red and green horizontal stripes, representing Hinduism and Islam, respectively.

In addition, it showed the constellation of the major bear, considered sacred, and a crescent accompanied by a seven-pointed star, representing Islam.

Flag of the All India Self-Government League. (1916-1918). (Mysid, via Wikimedia Commons).

This flag received the first ban by the British authorities. Its use was persecuted during its application.

Ghandi's Tricolor Proposal (1921)

India's independence movement began to profile its leaders. One of its principals, Mahatma Ghandi, raised the need for India to have a flag. The symbol chosen for Ghandi was the charkha or the traditional spinning wheel in India.

At first, it was proposed that the flag be green and red, representing Islam and Hinduism. The flag failed to be presented to the Indian National Congress, for which it was subsequently modified, when Ghandi realized that not all religions were included. For that reason, a white stripe was included in the middle. A silhouette of the charkha was imposed on the three stripes.

The interpretation of the flag received a modification in 1929, as its meaning became secularized. The red represented the sacrifices of the Indian people, the white for purity while the green was identified with hope.

Flag proposed by Mahatma Ghandi. (1921). (Nicholas (Nichalp), via Wikimedia Commons).

Rise of the Swaraj flag

A new design entered the fray. The independence leader Pingali Venkayya designed what was known as the Swaraj flag. This was first raised at a Nagpur congressional rally in 1923. The situation led to a clash with the police that resulted in more than a hundred arrests. This led to the flag continuing to be used in the demonstration.

A few days later, Nagpur Congressional Committee Secretary Jamnalal Bajaj promoted the Flag Satyagraha movement, which exercised civil disobedience by calling on citizens to carry the Swaraj flag.

The All India Congress Committee joined the initiative of the protest. This generated popular knowledge of the symbol, which became essential in the independence movement, which was joined by women and even Muslims.

The Swaraj flag became popular and its use was related to the independence of India, so it faced significant repression from the British government.

The Indian National Congress, the main independence party, adopted the Swaraj flag as its own in 1931. Its use was official during the Provisional Government of Free India, established by Japan in World War II in occupied sectors of the country.

Swaraj flag design

The composition of this independence symbol was also that of a tricolor. The difference lay in their colors, as it was made up of the colors orange, white and green. In the center of the white stripe the spinning wheel was included.

Swaraj flag, since 1931 flag of the Indian National Congress. (Nicholas (Nichalp), via Wikimedia Commons).

Indian Independence

The political situation in India changed profoundly after the Second World War, which finally came in 1946 to the decision of the British Labor government to end the colonial rule in India. However, this did not occur in a single state.

Tensions between Muslims and Hindus in the territory of the British Raj increased. The Muslim League began to demand an Islamic state of its own, and after the Day of Direct Action there was a massacre between groups of both religions that left 4,000 dead.

In 1947, the British government carried out the Second Partition of India, contrary to the will of the Indian National Congress. After that, two independent countries were formed: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.

The division generated important migrations of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs to the new countries, in addition to creating important border conflicts and a tense relationship between both nations.

Choice and approval of the flag

Shortly before the consummation of the independence of India the Constituent Assembly was constituted. One of its commissions was created to establish a new flag.

His verdict was to recommend that the one already used by the Indian National Congress be adopted. However, this underwent a change, because the rotating wheel with its gear was only replaced by the ashoka chakrá. This gave the symbol symmetry.

The proposed tricolor flag in saffron, white and green with the ashoka chakrá in blue in the center was approved unanimously in July 1947. Since then, the flag has been made of khadi silk and cotton. The symbol has remained in force since that date, without being changed after the creation of the Republic of India in 1950.

Meaning of the flag

Since its creation, the flag of India has had different interpretations in regards to its meaning. The Ghandian flag was initially white, green and red and its colors had religious motifs.

This was motivated by the fact that green was identified with Islam, red with Hinduism and white with the other religions. However, the meaning was later secularized.

Later, the Swaraj flag emerged, with saffron, white and green as the main colors. By the time of independence, the charkha was simply replaced by the Ashoka Chakra, which is the spinning wheel of the machine. The ashoka chakrá is the visual representation of the dharma wheel, which represents the law and doctrine.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Meanings

According to the former Vice President (1952-1962) and then President of India (1962-1967) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, saffron is the representative of the resignation that leaders must have to dedicate themselves to public service.

White would be the representative color of a guiding light on the path of truth, while green is related to vegetation, the origin of life.

Furthermore, for Radhakrishnan the ashoka chakra is identified with truth and virtue as a principle. Being a wheel, the symbol is related to movement, because, in his words, India must move forward and the wheel is the dynamism of constant change.

Added to the meaning of Radhakrishman, it is popularly extended that saffron is associated with the courage and sacrifice of the Indians. The target, on the contrary, is the peace and the truth of the country. Finally, green would be the faith and respect or chivalry, while the wheel would be the representative of justice.

Requirements for the making and construction of the flag

An Indian flag must be made of khadi cotton or cotton cloth. Since the time of independence, extensive regulations on flag specifications and measurements have been developed in India. The making of the flag is done according to the regulations of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

These regulations include elements as different as the precision of the colors, the size, the brightness, the threads and the cord, made from hemp. Any flag that does not follow these instructions cannot represent the country and may even carry legal sanctions.

Khadi

The khadi is the protagonist of the construction of the Indian flag. To make it, you need cotton, wool and silk. This fabric is divided into two types, since the khadi-bunting is the one used on the flag itself, while the khadi-duck is a beige fabric that is used in the flagpole area.

The khadi-duck is precisely one of the rarest fabrics and only about twenty weavers in India know how to make it professionally.

The making of the flag is centralized. In the entire country, there are only four centers licensed to make the khadi of the flag. However, the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha is the only factory producing and supplying flags in India.

All flags are subject to review by the BIS. This institution first verifies the materials and later, the flag with the colors and the ashoka chakra. The sale of the pavilions only occurs after the approval and complete verification of this body.

References

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