22 July 1947: The Day the Constituent Assembly Adopted the National Flag
What happened in the Constituent Assembly when the Tiranga was formally adopted, why the charkha gave way to the Ashoka Chakra, and how the flag was described in the resolution.
Setting the scene
By July 1947 it was clear that India would become independent within weeks. The Constituent Assembly, which had been meeting since December 1946 to draft the Constitution, needed to settle the question of a national flag. An ad hoc committee under Dr. Rajendra Prasad, with members such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, considered the matter and recommended a design.
The resolution
On 22 July 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the resolution in the Assembly. It stated that the national flag of India shall be a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesari), white and dark green in equal proportion, with a wheel in navy blue at the centre of the white band to represent the charkha. The design of the wheel was to be that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag was set at two to three. The resolution was adopted by the Assembly.
Why the Ashoka Chakra replaced the charkha
The Swaraj flag of 1931 carried a spinning wheel, and many people felt deeply attached to it. However, a charkha drawn on a flag looks different on each side, which creates practical problems, and the Assembly wanted a symbol with broad historical meaning. The wheel from the Sarnath capital, dating to the reign of Emperor Ashoka in the third century BCE, was chosen. It retained the idea of a wheel, linking it to the charkha and the freedom movement, while also connecting the new nation to an ancient tradition of righteousness, peace and the rule of law.
Speeches and meanings
Several members spoke during the debate. Nehru described the flag as a flag of freedom, not of domination, and said it represented freedom for all people who saw it. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan offered an interpretation of the colours that is still widely quoted: saffron for renunciation and disinterestedness, white for light and the path of truth, green for our relation to the soil and to plant life, and the wheel for the law of dharma and for motion, because there is life in movement and death in stagnation. You can read more about these ideas in our article on the meaning of the colours.
From dominion to republic
The newly adopted flag was raised as the flag of independent India on 15 August 1947. When the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 and India became a republic, the same flag continued as the national flag. The flag that we see today is therefore exactly the one described in the resolution of 22 July 1947, with its specifications later detailed in standards issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards and in the Flag Code of India.
Reading the original debates
The Constituent Assembly Debates are published and freely accessible through official parliamentary sources. Reading the debate of 22 July 1947 is a rewarding way to understand the thinking behind the flag in the words of the people who adopted it. Students preparing for exams, quizzes or speeches will find it a valuable primary source.
This article is intended for general educational purposes. For official or legal purposes, please refer to the current Flag Code of India and notifications published by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Spotted an error? Write to info@tirangaourpride.online.