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Ashoka Chakra: Meaning Behind 24 Spokes on India's Flag

Ashoka Chakra: Meaning Behind 24 Spokes on India's Flag
Ashoka Chakra: The Meaning Behind 24 Spokes On India's National Flag · NDTV

India has a special flag called the Tricolour.

India will celebrate 80 years of being an independent country on August 15, 2026.

The flag has a white band in the middle with a navy-blue wheel painted on it.

The wheel is called the Ashoka Chakra, and it has 24 spokes.

A very old king named Emperor Ashoka used this wheel long ago.

The wheel reminds people that there is life in movement and death in staying still.

Each of the 24 spokes stands for one good quality, like hope, love, courage, and honesty.

The wheel tells us that a country must keep moving forward, just like a wheel keeps rolling.

Long ago, when the flag was adopted in 1947, the wheel replaced an older picture of a spinning wheel on the flag.

Key facts

Event
India's 80th Independence Day
Date
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Symbol
Ashoka Chakra, a navy-blue wheel with 24 equally spaced spokes
Meaning
Righteous law (Dharma); life in movement, death in stagnation
Origin
Sarnath Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka
Flag adoption
July 22, 1947 by the Constituent Assembly
Replaced
The charkha featured in earlier versions of the flag
Spokes represent
24 virtues including hope, courage, truth, justice, wisdom, and altruism

Sources

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