Swagatam
The word flag is of Teutonic (German) origin and probably came into use around the 15th and 16th centuries in various northern European languages signifying a piece of cloth, bunting or a similar material displaying the insignia of a community, an armed force, an office or an individual. A flag in a classical sense is usually, but not always oblong and attached to a staff or halyard. In the early days of history, the flags besides being objects of worship and reverence, also served as rallying points for organizing armies and for identification of friend and foe during battles. For this purpose flag bearers were used in wars to give direction to soldiers. The Indian flag was adopted on July 22, 1947 in the Constituent Assembly on the eve of the Independence of India by the Adhoc Committee. The Tiranga proudly went up for the first time against a free sky of Independent India on the flag mast of the Council House at 10:30 a.m. As the Tricolour went up the flag mast, a 31 gun salute was accorded to the symbol of the newly born nation. In the afternoon of the August 15, 1947, the first public flag salutation ceremony was held at the War Memorial at the Prince's Park near India Gate. The flag was hosted at the red fort for the first time on August 16th at 8:30 am not on Aug. 15th contrary to the popular belief.
The Indian flag is a tricolour with deep saffron on the top, white in the
middle and green at the bottom in equal proportion. Ratio of the 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 "Charkha". 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 has
24 spokes. The colors of the flag do not represent any community or religion
but rather represent the following:
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