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There are various national symbols that
represent each nation, one of them being the flag that every
citizen salutes to. And every nation’s flag has a story to
narrate; it has a history behind it.
The story of the Indian flag is based on a freedom struggle,
which will be remembered for eons to come.
The reason for this is that here was one
struggle based on the premise of peace and non-violence as
propagated by Mahatma Gandhi. And this makes each citizen proud
of being Indian. |
The India flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya and was adopted at an
ad hoc Constituent Meeting that was held on 22nd July 1947. The flag is
made up of three colors placed horizontally and in equal proportion –
saffron (on top), white (in the middle), green (bottom). In the center
of the white portion is the Ashoka Chakra – a navy blue wheel with 24
spokes.
Where the meaning of the India flag goes, the nation’s first
Vice-President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, described it’s significance as
follows: “Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or
disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and
dedicate themselves to their work.
The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our
conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the
plant life here, on which all other life depends.
The ‘Ashoka Chakra’ in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law
of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling
principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes
motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India
should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel
represents the dynamism of a peaceful change."
Even though this is considered as one of the official descriptions of
the flag; according to popular understanding saffron denotes
spirituality, white is for peace, green is for abundance and the wheel
represents justice. According to Independent India’s first Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the flag not only represents freedom of the
nation; but also freedom of each and every citizen of the country.
To commemorate the tireless efforts of the nation’s freedom fighter,
each year citizens across the nation gather together to hoist the flag
and salute to it as they sing the National Anthem. 15th August
(Independence Day) and 26th January (Republic Day), are very important
dates marked on every Indian nationals calendar.
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