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BACK ISSUES | SEPTEMBER 2009 | CURRENT ISSUE
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AUGUST 2009
On August 15 people all over the country celebrate Independence Day in hues of saffron, white, green and blue. Were you aware that the Indian flag has been to the North Pole, South Pole and even into space? Read on for more interesting ‘freedom facts’.
Tiranga
The tricolour is based on the flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya. The ratio of its width to its length is 2:3. The blue chakra on the middle white band has 24 spokes and its diameter is three-fourths the height of the white strip.The significance of the colours and the chakra was described by Dr S. Radhakrishnan at the Constituent Assembly: “The saffron colour denotes renunciation of 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 soil, our relation to the plant life here on earth on which all other life depends. The Ashoka Wheel 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 principles of those who work under this flag. 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.”
Sr Nivedita’s flag
In 1904, Sr Nivedita, an Irish disciple ofSwami Vivekananda,was the first to conceive
of a National Flag for India. It was a red square
-shaped flag with a yellow inset; it depicted a
‘Vajra Chinha‘ (thunderbolt) with a white lotus
alongside it in the centre and ‘Bônde Matorom‘
inscribed on it. The red colour signified the
freedom struggle, yellow signified victory, and
the white lotus signified purity.
While moving the resolution to adopt the national flag of India on July 22, 1947, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said: “… this flag that I have the honour to present to you is not, I hope and trust, a flag of an empire, a flag of imperialism, a flag of domination over anybody, but a flag of freedom, not only for ourselves, but to all people who may see it…”
A course of adventures
May 29, 1953: The tricolour is hoisted on Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, along with the Union Jack and the Nepalese flag.July 26, 1971: The tricolour goes into space aboard the Apollo 15.
April 2, 1984: The flag is worn as a medallion on the space suit of cosmonaut Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma during the Indo-Soviet joint space flight.
January 9, 1982: The first Indian Antarctica Expedition plants the first Indian flag over Dakshin Gangotri.
September 28, 1985: The tricolour sails around the world on an expedition aboard the Trishna covering 30,000 nautical miles in 470 days.
January 17, 1989: Col. J. K. Bajaj hoists the flag for the first time at the South Pole.
April 21, 1996: Squadron Leader Sanjay Thapar jumps from an MI-8 helicopter at an altitude of 10,000 feet and hoists the tricolour at the North Pole. The hoisting of the flag in the far corners of the world fulfilled Pandit Nehru‘s vision: “… and I hope it will go far, not only where Indians dwell as our ambassadors and ministers, but across the far seas where it may be carried by Indian ships… it will take a message of freedom and comradeship, a message that India wants to be friends with every country of the world.”
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps,India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes,
which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old
to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation,
long suppressed, finds utterance… We end today a period of ill
fortune, and India discovers herself again.”
— Jawaharlal Nehru delivering his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech
Frequent fliers
Pandit Nehru hoisted the flag atop the Red Fort 17 times since 1947, the maximum number of times by any Indian Prime Minister. Indira Gandhi comes a close second, unfurling the tricolour 16 times. Atal Behari Vajpayee has hoisted the flag 6 times, followed by Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao with 5 each, while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hoist the flag for the sixth time on August 15, 2009.
A stamp for 3½ annas (for foreign
correspondence), to commemorate
India‘s independence, was the first
stamp issued by the Government of
India on November 21, 1947.
Fast Facts
National emblem
The Indian national emblem is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The Lion Capital was erected in the 3rd century BC by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation to the four quarters of the universe. The national emblem is thus symbolic of India‘s reaffirmation of its commitment to world peace and goodwill. The four lions (one hidden from view) symbolising power, courage and confidence, rest on a circular abacus which is girded by four smaller animals — Guardians of the Four Directions: the Lion of the North, the Elephant of the East, the Horse of the South and the Bull of the West. The words Satyameva Jayate from the Mundaka Upanishad, meaning ‘Truth Alone Triumphs‘, are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script. Adopted as the National Emblem of India on January 26, 1950, it appears on the official letterhead of the Government of India, all Indian currency and prominently on diplomatic and national passports of India.
Prior to 2002, the flag code of India did not permit flying of the Indian flag on non-governmental institutions and the general public could do so only on selected national days. Inspired by his American friends displaying their flag during his college days in the U.S., industrialist Naveen Jindal believed that flying the national flag should be the right of every Indian. He took the case to the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India and won both cases. On January 26, 2002, citizens were allowed to hoist the flag on all days of the year atop their buildings and institutions, provided they safeguarded the dignity, honour and respect of the flag.
Berlin Wall of Asia
Wagah is the only road border crossing between India and Pakistan, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Amritsar, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Wagah itself is a village through which the Radcliffe Line was drawn. The Line became the border between India and Pakistan on August 17, 1947 after Partition. It was decided by the Border Commissions chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Today the eastern half of Wagah remains in India whilst the western half lies in Pakistan. Each evening a retreat ceremony called 'lowering of the flags' by the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Pakistan Rangers takes place here.
National portal of India
india.gov.in
