History of the India Flag: Pingali Venkayya, 1931 Tricolour & 1947 Ashoka Chakra
India’s modern national flag grew out of several designs used during the independence movement. The decisive steps came in 1921, 1931 and July 1947.
Early nationalist flags
Indian independence activists used several flags before the modern tricolour. Government historical material records important designs from 1906, 1907 and the Home Rule movement of 1917.
1921: Pingali Venkayya’s design
At the Bezwada session of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Pingali Venkayya presented a flag design to Mahatma Gandhi. It became an important ancestor of the modern tricolour.
1931: the saffron-white-green tricolour
In 1931 a formal resolution adopted a saffron-white-green tricolour with a spinning wheel in the centre. The design was explicitly intended as a national flag rather than a communal one.
1947: the Ashoka Chakra replaces the charkha
On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted the national flag of free India. The three colors were retained, but the spinning wheel was replaced by the navy-blue Ashoka Chakra with 24 spokes.
Why the 1947 change mattered
The Ashoka Chakra linked the new republic to the ancient Dharma Chakra while creating a design that could be reproduced identically on both sides of the flag.
After independence
The flag became the national flag of the Dominion of India on August 15, 1947 and continued as the flag of the Republic after January 26, 1950.
Timeline
| 1921 | Pingali Venkayya presents influential design |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Saffron-white-green tricolour adopted by Congress |
| July 22, 1947 | Modern flag adopted by Constituent Assembly |
| August 15, 1947 | Becomes flag of independent India |
