India celebrates Independence Day, what does the national flag symbolise

As India celebrated its 72nd Independence Day today on August 15, let us take a walk through the history of the national flag.

National Flag of India

The flag is a rectangular consisting of deep saffron, white and green colours with a 24-spoke wheel (the Ashoka Chakra) in navy blue at its centre. It became the official flag of India on 15 August 1947. Let’s take a look at its history and significance for the country.

• Colors: Saffron, White and Green; Navy Blue in the Askoka Chakra. The RGB values for referring to the colors are saffron #FF9933, white #FFFFFF, India green #138808, and navy blue #000080.
• Dimension ratio: 2:3
• Designed by: Pingali Venkayya
• Follows the manufacturing protocols laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
• Only khadi or hand-spun cloth is allowed to be used for the flag to be hoisted. Raw materials for khadi are restricted to cotton, silk and wool
• Six steps to make a flag: Hand spinning, hand weaving, bleaching, dyeing, chakra printing, stitching and toggling
• Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission hold the right to manufacture the Indian National flag and the responsibility as of today, lies with the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha. Only 50 women work at KKGSS to meet the growing demand for the National Flag
• Any defect in the flags such as colour, size, thread count, strength of yarn, fastness of the colours etc. is considered a serious offence
• The biggest flag (14×21 feet in size) is hoisted at Gwalior Fort, Kolhapur Raigad Fort and Nalgonda Fort.

Importance of a flag

The present form of the flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July, 1947 – 24 days prior to the formal declaration of Independence. Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘A flag is a necessity for all nations. Millions have died for it. It is no doubt a kind of idolatry which would be a sin to destroy. For, a flag represents an Ideal.’ The national flag is the banner that imparts a nation its own unique identity, proclaims to world of its sovereignty, and announces the principles on which lies the country’s foundation.

Symbolism

The colors and symbols of the Indian National flag hold deep philosophical meaning. Each color represents a specific aspect of Indian culture that resonates deeply within the hearts of the citizens. The saffron stands for sacrifice and renunciation, the white stands for peace and the green stands for courage and immortality. The Ashok Chakra is a depiction of Dharma Chakra. It has 24 spokes radiating from the center. It represents righteousness, justice and forwardness. The symbolism of wheel is that of constant movement that heralds progress and repels stagnation.

Another underlying symbolism of the three colors is based on the secular principles of the country. The saffron represents Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the white is for Christianity and the green stands for Islam. The flag as a whole represents a confluence of all religious principles, but above all a philosophy of tolerance and righteousness as depicted by the Ashok Chakra in the middle.