Calcutta flag

{{short description|Unofficial flag of India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Use Indian English|date=August 2023}}

File:Flag of India 1906 (Calcutta Flag).svg

File:Flag of India 1907 (Nationalists Flag).svg

The Calcutta flag was one of the first unofficial flags of India. It was designed by Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo and unfurled on 7 August 1906 at Parsi Bagan Square (Greer Park), Calcutta.{{Cite book|title=Our national flag|last=Singh, K. V.|date=2007|publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India|oclc=1110172419}}{{Cite web |date=2022-08-10 |title=জাতীয় পতাকার প্রথম রূপকার হেমচন্দ্র কানুনগো আজও ইতিহাসে উপেক্ষিত |url=https://bengali.news18.com/news/west-midnapore/hemchandra-kanungo-the-first-designer-of-the-national-flag-is-still-neglected-in-history-pbd-866078.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=News18 Bengali |language=bn}}{{Cite web |date=2022-09-16 |title=Parsi Bagan Lane: A Land Of Freedom Struggle - Asiana Times |url=https://asianatimes.com/parsi-bagan-lanea-land-of-freedom-struggle/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |language=en-US}} The "flag of Indian independence", which was hoisted by Madam Bhikaji Cama at the International Socialist conference in Stuttgart, Germany, was based on Calcutta flag.

The flag had three horizontal bands of equal width with the top being orange, the centre yellow and the bottom green in colour. It had eight half-opened lotus flowers on the top stripe representing the eight provinces of British India and a picture of the sun and an crescent moon on the bottom stripe. {{lang|sa|वन्दे मातरम्}} (Vande Mataram, meaning "Mother, I bow to thee!") was inscribed in the centre in Devanagari.{{Cite book |last=India |first=Hachette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXenEAAAQBAJ&dq=calcutta+flag&pg=PT223 |title=Limca Book of Records 2023 |date=2023-01-22 |publisher=Hachette India |isbn=978-93-93701-49-7 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Livemint |date=2022-08-14 |title=75th Independence Day: History and Significance of Indian Flag |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/75th-independence-day-history-and-significance-of-indian-flag-11660448998750.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=mint |language=en}}