The national flag of India was initially supposed to be of saffron (kesari or bhagwa) colour. Even the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress agreed to it. But the idea had to be junked due to the vehement opposition of one man – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
The revelations were made in the book ‘Hedgewar: A Definitive Biography’, written by Sachin Nandha and published by Penguin Random House.
In Chapter 12 of the book (Page 231), Sachin Nandha writes that the Indian National Congress appointed a 7-person team to find out the opinion of the public about the colour of the national flag.
In 1931, the team provided the brief that the people want a Kesari national flag bearing the Ashoka Chakra.
“Opinion has been unanimous that our National Flag should be of a single colour except for the colour of the device. If there is one colour that is more acceptable to the Indians as a whole, even as it is more distinctive than another, one that is associated with this ancient country by long tradition, it is the kesari or saffron colour. Accordingly, it is felt that the flag should be of the kesari colour except for the colour of the device. That the device should be the charkha is unanimously agreed too.“
[Text reproduced from Indian National Congress, ‘Report of the National Flag Committee’, published by Jairamdas Doulatram, Ahmedabad, 1931]
The brief was agreed upon and signed by the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel and even Abul Kalam Azad. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) was already using saffron as the ‘Rashtra dhwaj’.
However, the unanimous decision of the Indian National Congress committee was bulldozed due to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He remained adamant that the colour of the national flag should only be a ‘tricolour’.
As a result of this Gandhian veto, the public sentiment and civilisation identity was ignored and kesari/ bhagwa flag did not become our national flag.
“India still lives with that historic decision, and although it has come to live with it, there are many tens of millions in modern India who feel that their country has the wrong flag,” writes Sachin Nandha.
Author Sachin Nandha also spoke about the contentious issue of the national flag during a recent interview with ‘journalist’ Barkha Dutt.
“At the end of two years, this committee submits a report to the Congress and basically says that what the report has found, reluctantly, is that the people want a flag that represents their cultural civilisation, whatever you want to call it, and it has to be Kesari with a chakra somewhere in the corner…That report was signed off by Nehru. It was signed off by Abul Kalam Azad and all the other six people of the committee. It went to Gandhi and Gandhi vetoed it. He just sidelined the committee and said, I will not allow this. It has to be a triranga,” he informed.
OpIndia had previously reported how Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wanted the Union Jack on India’s national flag and said he would not salute it if Charkha was replaced by Ashoka Chakra
