Quest for a National Flag for India; Part -IX; The First Swaraj Flag (1921-1931)

At Kamakura in Japan, Rash Behari Bose hoisted the Swaraj flag in celebration with the beginning of Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha on 12 March, 1930.

Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay leads a Flag procession in January1930.

The slogan imprinted on the banner reads:

 “Up, Up with the National Flag, 
Down Down with the Union Jack”

With the rapid spread of National up-risings through Non-violence and Non-Co-operation Movements spear headed by the Congress in 1920s, stamp like labels bearing picture of Swadeshi flag, National leaders and slogans, such as, “Boycott Foreign Goods” and/or “Boycott British Goods” (in philatelic term these labels are called Cinderellas) surfaced in the Indian scene. These Indian patriotic Boycott labels were similar to the Sinn Fein lebels of the IRA Movements. The stamp like Sinn Fien labels was made by the Irish political leaders in the early 1900s, primarily to collect funds for the IRA. British Post Office declared these labels as illegal in 1905 and mails bearing Sinn Fien labels affixed on postal articles were either confiscated or returned to the senders. In similar manner, in India the Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs issued a Postal Notice which appeared in ‘Gazette of India’ on August 9, 1930 prohibiting the use of Boycott labels side by side with ordinary postage stamps on postal articles for transmission. My friend Mr. Asok Bayanwala of Ahmadabad, has built up a unique collection on Indian Boycott labels titled ‘Forbidden Mails’. There is an article written by Franklin D’Souza in the September 1930 issue of the ‘Philatelic Journal of India’, which may be considered as a good reference work for anybody desires to do further research on this subject. 

(to be continued)

 Indian Flag on Foreign Stamps

The new United Nations International Personalized Stamp Sheet (Product ID:3933558)  consists of 10 stamps in the denomination of US$ 0.98 and features:

Flags of the United Nations (Indian National flag is focused prominently) (photo taken in 1959) at United Nations Headquarters with the Secretariat Building in the background; Sculpture entitled "Single Form" by Barbara Hepworth; United Nations flag; Sculpture entitled "Sphere within a Sphere" by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, presented to the United Nations by Italy on 21 November 1996; and view of UN Headquarters and the Chrysler building.

(Sheet price: US$ 14.95, for more details contact UNPA at New York)

National Flags of the SAARC member countries

New Bhutanese miniature sheets issued in April 2010 to commemorate 25 years of SAARC.

Quest for a National Flag for India, Part - VIII; The first Swaraj (National) flag : 1921-1931.

The Declaration of Purna Swaraj  (Total Independence) -1929

Swaraj Flag became more conspicuous at all political rallies.

On December 31, 1929 at the Lahore (Pakistan, after independence)) Congress, Pandit Nehru hoisted the Swaraj flag on the banks of the River Ravi and declared Purna Swaraj as the goal of freedom movement with a fervent call to observe next January 26, 1930 as Independence Day. The Swaraj flag led to a direct conflict with the Union Jack, which took the form of an open movement around. 

Stamp like Label  issued from Khadi Mondal, College Street, Calcutta.

It has the patriotic song imprinted in Bengali

“Swadhitanata hinataya ke bachitey chay?

Dashatya srinkhal bolo ke dharibay pa-ey?”

by Rangalal Bandopadhyay, translated :

Who wishes to live

In a gloom of captivity?

Who wishes to live !

Who wishes to be frittered by slavery?

The flag in the label has the words “Celebrate Independence Day on 26 January”.

Salt Satyagraha (Dandi March)-1930

A simple act which become the powerful symbol of the Satyagraha. 

On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi launched Salt Satyagraha and set out from Sabarmati Ashram (Ahmadabad) with 78 volunteers to Dandi on the Gujarat coast. The 35-day long march culminated on April 6, when Gandhi picked up a lump of salt, thereby giving signal to break the law. Swaraj flags were waved by the rejoiced crowd in acknowledgment of the great historic event.

There were simultaneous

Salt Satyagrahas 

organized in other parts of the country.

Quest for a National Flag for India, Part-VII, The Swaraj (National) Flag of India-1921.

Let me start to-day, at the outset, that we should refrain from quoting (without verification) from the information brochures published by the Department of Posts in connection with the release of a commemorative/special postage stamp (you know that all rights with respect to the stamp, first day cover and information brochure rest with the Department and they do charge for the same). Our wise men have said you do not learn anything free of cost!  They were right.

 I was given to understand wrongly, the life span of P. Venkayya as ‘1878-1963’ as mentioned in the information brochure of the stamp issued on 12-8-2009. On verification, I found from authentic biographies that the main architect of the Swaraj flag, was born on 2^nd. August 1876, not in 1878, in fact, the Department of Posts had celebrated Venkayya’s centenary of birth on 2-8-1976 by issuing a special cover from Vijaywada (his birth place, in broader sense).

So, we get at least three haulers(!) from one information brochure alone – first; P. Venkayya’s year of birth, second; mis-spelling of Venkiah and the third; Venkkyya’s contribution (?) to the Purna Swaraj Flag which was created in 1931.

1.      While on the subject, it was also noticed that Dadabhoy Naoroji on the stamp issued on 4-9-1963 in his honour became Dadabhai Naoroji on the stamp issued on 26-8-1993 (vide, Quest for a flag for India, Part IV).

 

Now let us now, come back to our search for the historical

events that led us to the present National Flag.

    The ‘Charkha’ was introduced at the Gandhi’s Ashram at Ahmedabad in the year 1917. Gandhi’s acceptance to the Swaraj flag in 1921 soon suffused the imagination of our country. Every city, village and hamlet saw it aflutter, in simple khadi, above private dwellings – large and humble – and in the street corners; claimed R. Vekataraman, former President of India.

 

     On the other hand, Gandhi’s “Cult of the Charkha”, efficacy of Charkha in advancing Swaraj (Independence) and the symbol of Charkha on the Swaraj flag was severely debated, criticised by many. Prominent amongst was perhaps, Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Letters and Debates’ between Gandhi and Tagore in this respect are of great historical values even to-day.

 

 D.V. Sivarao, a research-scholar, in a broadcast from the All India Radio, Vijaywada on 19-10-1953 on “Our National Flag” said: “It will be interesting to know that the idea of substitution of the Chakra (Wheel) for the Charkha (Spinning wheel) was conceived by late Andhra Ratna D. Gopalakrishnayya”. It was on record that Gopalakrishnayya, known as ‘Hero of Chirela-Perala’, ridiculed the Swaraj flag as a mere spinners-weavers flag. He himself had designed as early as 1920 two separate flags for his Ghosti and Rama Dandu . The main part of the flags was a Vajra within a Chakra i.e. Thunderbolt within a Wheel. Vajra symbolized the bones of Rishi Dadhichi. It was in turn again perhaps taken from the Sister Nivedita’s flag made in 1906 (vide, blog dated April 17, 2010).

We shall discuss in threadbare on this subject when we shall talk about various suggestions that were put forward to the ‘Flag Committee’ constituted in 1931 to devise a new flag for India. 

  From 1921 to 1931 the Swaraj flag played a pivotal role in rallying political activities organized by the Congress Party. It became synonymous with the Congress party and some time referred to as Congress Flag or Gandhi flag.

Nagpur Flag Satyagraha-1923

Nagpur Flag Satyagraha (1923) took place to fight back the ban imposed on the flying the Swaraj flag. The prolonged Battle of Flag had given the Swaraj flag large support and eventually the flag became the means of political mobilization and a powerful symbol of anti-colonial protest.

Prominent leaders of Nagpur Flag Satyagraha

Patriotic Flag Songs

Patriotic songs are the musical equivalent of our country’s emblem. Several songs were written/composed during the period have reference of Swaraj flag.

                           

                                              

Behold Our Mother’s Great Banner!

(Thayein Mani Kudi Pareer)

Under the flag-mast are patriots

Loyal and faithful

Ready to sacrifice their very life

To keep the flag flying high.

Behold our mother’s great banner!

“Vijayi bishwa tiranga pyara 
Jhanda uncha rahe hamara.”

(Winsome to the world is our Tricolour dear

High may it soar is our passionate prayer)

(to be continued) 

Quest for a Flag for India, Part VI

The Swaraj (National) Flag -1921

While our Home Rule volunteers were engaged in promoting the Home Rule flag across the country during 1917-18, another whisper-snapper patriot, a true nationalist, from Musilpatam (Madras) (now of Andhra Pradesh) Pingali Venkayya was relentlessly working for a flag for India. In 1916, P. Venkayya founded an Indian Flag Mission along with his associates Omar Sobhani and S.R.Bommanji, in order to propagate at the grass root level, urging people of India to realize the political wisdom of adopting a National flag for India.

Jhanda Venkayya (1876 - 1963)

P. Venkayya wrote a booklet in 1916; titled ‘A National Flag for India’ with a foreword by B.N. Sharma (the booklet was financed by C. P. Ramaswamy Iyar). In this booklet Venkayya published at least 30 illustrations of his proposed flag models. Amongst the flag designs there was also a ‘Vajra Flag’, as was originally suggested by Sister Nivedita. Venkayya attended the Calcutta session of Congress in December 1906, presided over by Sir Dadabhoy Naoroji in which the ‘Vande Matarm flag’ was hoisted. He was also a volunteer of the Home Rule Movement of Annie Besant. 

In 1921, Pinglay Venkayya prepared a flag design “Red over Green”

colours representing the Hindus & the Muslims.  A Charkha was placed on the flag as suggested by Lala Hansraj of Bajware (near Jullundur). Later, to the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi, a white band was added on top of the colour ‘red’ to represent all other lesser communities.

 

Note the two different spellings of  ‘Venkayya’ and ‘Venkaiah’ used by the Dept. of Posts.

‘Purna Swaraj Flag of 1931’ was not designed by Venkayya, it is wrongly stated in the information brochure published by the Department of Posts that both the flags depicted on the stamp are his designs, therefore, the projection of the Purna Swaraj flag on the stamp on Venkayya (issued on 12. 08. 2009) is unwarranted. As a matter of fact, P. Venkayya played no role in the subsequent flag designs after the creation of Swaraj flag. He was not even nominated as a member of the Flag Committee set up in 1931 to devise a new flag, when there was nation-wise objections raised to the interpretation of the colours (on the basis of communal compartmentalism) and their disposition ‘white over green over red’ of the Swaraj flag. Venkayya was not even an invitee to the AICC session in Bombay in 1931, in which the ‘Purna Swaraj Flag’ was devised and officially accepted. Venkayya by then retired from active politics.

Mahatma Gandhi wrote in the Young India in April 1921 “A flag is a necessity….It will be for us Indians…..to recognize a common flag to live and to die for.  …... Mr. P. Venkayya has for some years placed before the public a suggestive booklet describing the flags of the other nations and offering designs for an Indian National Flag. But, whilst I have always admired the persistent zeal with which Mr. Venkayya has prosecuted the cause of a National Flag…. He was never able to enthuse me; and in his designs I saw nothing to stir the nation to its depths….. .At Bezwada (now, Vijayawada)I asked Mr. Venkayya to give me a design containing a spinning wheel on a red(Hindu colour) and Green (Muslim colour) background….. I suggest that the background should be white and green and red. The white portion is intended to represent all other faiths. The weakest numerically occupy the first place. The Islamic colour comes next; the Hindu colour red comes last, the idea being that the strongest should act as a shield to the weakest ... to represent the equality of the least of us with the best, an equal part is suggested to all three colours in the design. ... the flag must be made of Khaddar, for it  is rough coarse cloth alone that can make India independent of foreign markets for her cloth. ….The regulation size of the flag should contain the drawing of a full sized spinning-wheel.”  The extracts of the article reveals that it was Gandhi who himself had influenced the making of the Swaraj flag. Therefore, the sole credit to P. Venkayya as the designer the Swaraj flag is factually incorrect. A myth has been grown that it was Venkayya who designed the Swaraj flag. Historians by and large, took the myth at its face value and agreed that it was Venkayya who gave us the Swaraj flag.The Swaraj flag was never officially adopted as the ‘National Flag’ by a formal resolution.However, Mahatma Gandhi’s approval, made it popular everywhere in India. It was also known that Mahatma Gandhi was not too happy when in 1947, at the eve of Independence, the Charkha of the flag was replaced by the Asoka’s Dharma Chakra (Wheel of law). We shall discuss more on this subject in due course.

With the coming into being of the Swaraj flag in 1921, Venkayya retired from active politics in 1922. But his passion for the Indian flag never died. Prior to his death in 1963, he composed a beautiful poem

OUR TRICOLOUR,  By P. Venkayya

The tricolour ensign of our rich domain

Shall fly aloft and there for ever and ever remain

To remind the world of our famed Maurian Asoka the great

Of vast empire, peaceful and brotherhood state.

Sacrificial saffron will for noble courage stand,

Peaceful white is the truthful central band,

Parrot green will rich chivalry and faith denote.