Republic Day 2023: Here's what every Indian should know about the Tricolour

India is gearing up to celebrate its 74th Republic Day on January 26, 2023 as it was this day when India's constitution came into force and the country took its first big step towards getting a hold over its future. As we head towards the big day, let's revisit the past and understand the thought process and meaning behind our national flag, colloquially called the Tricolour.

When was India's Tricolour adopted?
The flag was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947, just twenty days before India's independence. On August 15, 1947, it became the official flag of the country. Did you know that the flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India?

The three colours and their meanings

The three colours - saffron, white and green - actually bear no communal meaning. The three colours are distributed in an equal proportion.As per the Flag code of India, the flag has a width: height aspect ratio of 3:2. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the Ashok Chakra - a depiction of the Dharma Chakra.

The saffron colour signifies the strength and courage of the country, while the white colour represents peace and truth. Meanwhile, the green colour indicates the fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land.

In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi had first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress. The design of the Indian tricolour is largely attributed to Pingali Venkayy. It began in 1921, when Venkayya met Gandhi at the All India Congress Committee in Bezwada and proposed a design consisting of two red and green bands to represent India's two major communities—Hindus and Muslims.

According to reports, Gandhi suggested adding a white colour band to represent peace and harmony between communities, along with a spinning wheel to represent the progress of the country.

The design went through several modifications and changes before it was modified to replace the colour red with saffron.