• Date of Significance: July 22, 1947 – The Indian Constituent Assembly adopted the National Flag.
• The event marks India’s final assertion of symbolic sovereignty prior to Independence on August 15, 1947.
• Contextual Importance: Reflects the culmination of India’s freedom struggle, national identity formation, and constitutional evolution.

Official Adoption by the Constituent Assembly – July 22, 1947

• Chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the ad-hoc Flag Committee was tasked with creating a flag representing all communities.
• Nehru proposed Venkayya’s modified flag with the Ashoka Chakra.
• Adopted just 24 days before Independence – a conscious act of symbolism and unity.

Symbolism of the Tricolour – Reflecting India’s Core Values

• Saffron (Top): Courage, sacrifice, renunciation – Honors the martyrs and revolutionaries.
• White (Middle): Peace, purity, and truth – Embodies the Gandhian ethos.
• Green (Bottom): Prosperity, agriculture, and fertility – Symbolizes India’s agrarian base and harmony with nature.
• Ashoka Chakra (24-spoked wheel): Progress and dynamism; taken from Sarnath Lion Capital, symbolizing dharma and governance.

Ethics Connection: The flag embodies virtue ethics—truth, sacrifice, duty—and forms a moral compass for nation-building.

The Ashoka Chakra: Eternal Wheel of Law

• Located at the center of the white band.
• 24 spokes = 24 hours; representing constant motion, vigilance, and change.
• Inspired by the Dharma Chakra of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, 3rd century BCE.
• Symbol of righteous governance and moral duty.

Legal Framework: The Flag Code of India (2002)

• Consolidates all conventions and rules for flag use.
• Effective from: January 26, 2002.
• Allows private citizens to hoist the flag on all days with dignity.
• Strict restrictions on damage, misuse, and disrespect.

Key Regulations:

• Flag must always be placed higher and alone.
• No flag should be placed above it or garlanded.
• No damage, soiling, or misuse for commercial purposes.

Disrespect and Punishment: Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971

• Punishable acts: Burning, defiling, trampling, or disrespecting the flag in public view.
• Punishment: Imprisonment up to 3 years, or fine, or both.
• Includes both spoken, written, and symbolic acts of disrespect.

Right to Hoist the Flag: A Fundamental Right (2002 Judgment)

• In the Union of India v. Naveen Jindal case, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to hoist the national flag is part of Article 19(1)(a) – freedom of expression.
• Reinforces that national symbols are means of democratic participation, not state monopoly.

Who Can Display the Flag and When?

• All citizens, institutions, and organizations can fly the flag on any day, provided dignity and honour are maintained.
• Prohibited: Use as festoons, drapery, costumes, or below another flag.

Flag Size and Materials

• Ratio: 3:2 (Length:Height). Flag must always be rectangular.
• Material (post-2021 amendment): Allowed materials include khadi, cotton, silk, wool, polyester (handspun or machine-made).
• Earlier: Only khadi was permitted, as per Gandhian legacy.

Note: While khadi remains the symbol of the freedom movement, the inclusion of synthetic materials reflects pragmatism and inclusivity.

Vehicle Use and Official Restrictions

• Only designated dignitaries can fly the national flag on vehicles:
  • President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Governors, Chief Justices
• Prohibited uses: Covering sides or tops of cars, or as seat/back covers.
• Must not touch the ground or water.

Pingali Venkayya – The Designer of the Flag

• Born: August 2, 1876 | Died: July 4, 1963
• Scholar, linguist, freedom fighter, army veteran.
• Proposed over 30 designs in his 1916 booklet on national flags.
• Met Gandhi in South Africa and proposed flag ideas during INC sessions.
• His final design formed the basis of India’s tricolour.