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Evolution of Indian Flag

The national flag of India was adopted into its present form during the meeting of constituent assembly
held on 22 July 1947, a few days before India's independence from the British on 15 August 1947.

1. The first national flag in India is said to have been hoisted
on 7 August 1906, in the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park)
in Calcutta. The flag was composed of three horizontal
strips of red, yellow, and green.
2. The second flag was hoisted in Paris by Madame Cama and
her band of exiled revolutionaries in 1907. This was very
similar to the first flag except that the top strip had only
one lotus, but seven stars denoting the Saptarishi. This flag
was also exhibited at a socialist conference in Berlin.
3. During the session of All India Congress Committee which
met at Bozwada in 1921 (now Vijayawada), an Andhra youth
prepared a flag and took it to Gandhiji. It was made up
of two colours, red and green, representing the two major
communities, Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji suggested
addition of a white strip to represent the remaining
communities and the spinning wheel to symbolise progress
of the Nation.
4. The third flag went up in 1917. Dr Annie Besant and
Lokmanya Tilak hoisted it during the Home Rule
Movement. This flag had five red and four green horizontal
strips arranged alternately, with seven stars in the saptarishi
configuration super-imposed on them. In the left-hand top
corner was the Union Jack. There was also a white crescent
and star in one corner.
5. The year 1931 was a landmark in the history of the flag.
A resolution was passed adopting a tricolour flag as our
national flag. This flag, the forbear of the present one, was
saffron, white, and green with Mahatma Gandhi's spinning
wheel at the centre. It was however, clearly stated that it
bare no communal significance and was to be interpreted
thus.
6. On 22 July 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted it as
Free India National Flag. After the advent of independence,
the colours and their significance remained the same. Only
the Dharma Charkha of Emperor Ashoka was adopted in
place of the spinning wheel as the emblem on the flag.
Thus, the tricolour flag of the Congress Party eventually
became the tricolour flag of Independent India.

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