India Flag

In 1916, Pingali Venkayya submitted thirty new designs for Indian flag, but none gained traction. In November 1920, the Indian delegation to the League of Nations could not use 'Flag of India' as there was no consensus on the flag. In 1921, Pingali Venkayya presented a flag design to Mahatma Gandhi that consisted of two horizontal bands of red and green. (Venkayya described that it is symbolic of unity between Hindus, represented by red, and Muslims, represented by Green) A freedom fighter named Lala Hans Raj Sondhi suggested placing the traditional spinning wheel at the center of the flag to highlight Gandhi’s crusade to make Indians self-reliant. Gandhi suggested adding a white stripe in the center for the other religions and to increase the visibility of the blue spinning wheel. Owing to the religious-political sensibilities, in 1929, Gandhi moved towards a more secular interpretation of the flag colors, stating that red stood for the sacrifices of the people, white for purity, and green for hope. Later, India saffron was substituted for red color. The resulting flag was called Swaraj flag and it was designed by Pingali Venkayya with suggestions from Mahatma Gandhi and Lala Hans Raj Sondhi. It became the official flag of Indian National Congress Party at its 1931 meeting. When India was about to get its independence, Swaraj flag was modified to make it the 'Flag of India'