how did the national flag evolve through various stages?
Answers
Answer:
1Sister Nivedita's flag, 1906
In 1904-06, Swami Vivekananda's disciple, Sister Nivedita made a red and yellow flag with 'Bande Mataram' written on it in Bengali. In 1906, a similar flag was made with three equal strips of blue (top), yellow (middle) and red (lower) and the same phrase written in Devanagari (Sanskrit script). The flag also had the symbols of the sun, the star and the lunar crescent.
2The Lotus flag, 1906
With horizontal stripes of orange, yellow and green, this flag came to be known as the 'Calcutta flag' or the 'Lotus flag', as it had eight half-opened lotuses on the orange strip. The flag is believed to be designed by Sachindra Prasad Bose and Sukumar Mitra. It was unfurled on August 7 in the year 1906 at Parsee Bagan in Calcutta (now Kolkata).
3The Berlin flag, 1907
This flag was designed by Madam Bhikaji Cama, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Shyamji Krishna Varma. The flag was unfurled at Stuttgart, Germany, on August 22 in 1907. The flag consisted of three colour stripes including saffron, followed by yellow in the middle and green at the bottom.
4The Home Rule flag, 1917
One of India's most revered leaders, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, mobilised the Home Rule movement against the British empire's decision of making India a British Dominion. A flag was designed with the Union Jack included on top. The flag also had the Big Dipper or Saptarishi constellation and the crescent moon and star.
5First flag with 'Charkha', 1921
In 1916, writer and geophysicist, Pingali Venkayya designed a flag to unite the nation. He sought an approval of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi suggested him to incorporate a 'charkha' in the flag to symbolise the economic regeneration of India. Gandhi unfurled this flag in 1921, which was coloured white at the top, green in the middle and red at the bottom. An image of 'charkha' was drawn across the three stripes, symbolising the unification of all communities.
6The first 'Tiranga', 1931
Pingali's flag was met with criticism as most people did not appreciate the community-based design of the national flag. The colours of the flag were changed to saffron at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom with the image of charkha placed at the centre of the white stripe. This flag was approved at the Congress Committee meeting in 1931.
7British India flag, 1858-1947
The British Empire issued this flag in 1858. All the official vessels of the colonisers would carry the flag. It was quite similar to the flags of other British colonies such as Canada and Australia. The Union Jack was placed at the top-left quadrant and the Star of India, capped by the Royal Crown, was placed in the middle-right position.
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