Khadi tricolour hoisted in Meerut by Nehru in 1946 brought out 1st time for public display in Pune

A khadi tricolour with an image of a spinning wheel in the centre and hoisted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Meerut in November 1946 has been brought out for the first time for public display in Pune.

The 9x14 feet flag, which is in the custody of the family of Major General (late) Ganpat R Nagar, the then General Officer Commanding of 3rd division of Indian National Army (INA), was displayed at an event in a college in Pimpri Chinchwad area here in Maharashtra for three days from Sunday. It was put up for display to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, 50 years of the 1971 India-Pakistan war and the Kargil Vijay Divas, Dev Nagar, the grandson of Maj Gen Nagar, told PTI. In 1946, Pandit Nehru had hoisted the flag in the last session of the Congress before independence at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh in the presence of officials of Bose's INA.

This was the first time that the flag was brought out of Meerut and kept for public viewing in Pune, said Dev Nagar, who is the principal of a school in Meerut. "The pre-independence Congress session had taken place on November 24, 1946 at the Victoria Park in Meerut where participants included INA functionaries. Pandit Nehru had hoisted the khadi tricolour having the 'charkha' image in the centre," he said. The principal said his grandfather was given the responsibility of arrangements at that function, which was presided over by J B Kriplani, the then Congress president, Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Sucheta Kriplani.

"The flag was brought down on the last day of the session. Nehru and General Shahnawaz Khan from the INA then signed it and handed it over to my grandfather, who was a resident of Meerut, for safe keeping," he said. Dev Nagar said his family has preserved the flag since then.

"The flag has been with us since then, safe and preserved," he added. According to Dev Nagar, Nehru had then said that they fought for freedom under this flag and it will be the national flag of the country. Later, the three colours were retained in the country's national flag, while the spinning wheel was replaced with the Ashok Chakra, which is a depiction of the Dharmachakra - a wheel represented with 24 spokes.

Asked how they preserved the tricolour for over 75 years, Dev Nagar said though they are not experts in it, they followed the thumb rule of keeping the flag away from dust and moisture. "It is always kept folded, packed and sealed with silica gel capsules to prevent moisture. We sometimes keep it out under the sun and then fold it back," he said. Dev Nagar said he was jittery about the bringing out the flag now as it is a "valuable relic".

While the flag was kept for public viewing, officials from an institute in Pune have offered to conserve the flag.

"These people said if the flag is properly treated, it can last for another 200 to 300 years. If this happens, I will be indebted to them," Dev Nagar said.

Maj Gen Nagar, who went to Sandhurst Military College in the UK, had been inducted into the British Army as King's Commissioned Officer, according to the description given below the flag during public display here. In 1939, after the fall of Singapore and seeing excesses of the British Army in the conquered land, Nagar revolted and was captured by Japanese soldiers. After the release, he was appointed as Major General and GOC by Subhash Chandra Bose.