Flag of India
The flag of the nationalist Indian National Congress party was used as the basis for the national flag in 1947. The layout was influenced by the French tricolor, and the colors are symbolic: saffron is for the courage and sacrifice; white for truth and peace; and green for faith and chivalry. The Congress flag’s spinning wheel motif was replaced by the blue chakra, or Buddhist wheel. The chakra comes from the Indian national arms depicting four lions, one facing each direction, standing on a pedestal into which four wheels are set. The arms come from the capital, or upper part, of a column erected by the first Buddhist emperor, Asoka, in the holy city of Sarnath in the 3 rd century BC.
The ratio of the flag is 2:3.
