National Flag of India

The National flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The saffron stands for courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation; the white, for purity and truth; the green for faith and fertility.

The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes, which intends to show that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.

The design of the national flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947. Its use and display are regulated by the Indian Flag Code. The flag symbolizes freedom. The late Prime Minister Pandit Nehru called it a flag not only of freedom for ourselves, but a symbol of freedom for all people.

National Flag of India