What Is The Meaning Of The Indian Flag And Who Designed It?
The tricolor flag of India consists of three horizontal stripes of deep saffron, white, and dark green, with the Ashok Chakra in navy blue at the center.
Before important dates such as the Republic Day on January 26 and the Independence Day on August 15, school children are often asked to draw and color the Indian flag.
But how did we get to this iteration of the flag?
Mahatma Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. This flag, designed by Pingali Venkayya, consisted of two horizontal stripes: red for Hindus and green for Muslims, with a charkha at the center to indicate India’s self-reliance with regard to clothing manufacturing.
Soon, this color scheme was modified to the saffron, white, and green we are familiar with. The white stripe was added to include other religious communities and provide a background for the charkha.
However, as this flag had religious connotations, new meanings were assigned to the colors:
Saffron: Courage and Sacrifice
White: Peace and Truth
Green: Faith and Chivalry
Just a few days before Independence, the Constituent Assembly vowed to create a flag that was accepted by all communities and parties in India. Thus, the charkha was replaced by the Ashok Chakra, which represents the eternal wheel of law.
Philosopher, first Vice President, and second President of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, described the flag’s significance as follows,
‘Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the center 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 center 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.’
This flag has served as the flag of the Republic of India since 1950.
The tricolor flag is a symbol of the Indian struggle for independence, self-reliance, and tolerance. Nothing describes this better than the progress made by India and its citizens in the past 74 years.
Since independence, India’s economy has been steadily growing and it is now the fifth-largest in the world by nominal GDP. From 2014 to 2018, India was also the world’s fastest-growing economy, surpassing China. When compared to other countries, India has shown remarkable growth in various sectors such as healthcare, education, economics, technology, and defense.
Recently, the Indian government decided to ban certain Chinese apps due to a clash by the border. Since this decision, the government has been focusing on developing Indian apps and brands that are homegrown and cater to the unique and specific needs of Indians.
One such app, Spark.Live, has received a special mention for the #AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge by the Government of India for providing users with a one-stop-shop for audio, video, and text consultations and classes.
Spark.Live is a Bangalore based app, providing services in multiple Indian languages — Bangla, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and English. It features a wide range of experts from different categories such as:
- Diet and nutrition
- Mental health
- Career counseling
- Yoga and fitness
- Astrology
- Music, singing, and dance classes
- Pranic healing
- Skill training
- And many more!
Along with these regular sessions, one can also find numerous workshops, live events, and webinars by well-known experts in their fields. Recently, Spark.Live collaborated with the Art of Living foundation for their Online International Children and Teen Festival which featured celebrity experts such as Ruskin Bond, Yuvraj Singh, Amar Chitra Katha, and Prajakta Koli. This event was attended by thousands of children and teenagers from 32 countries!
Dedicated to providing a voice and expert consultations for people from the hinterlands, Spark.Live is an app that defines the very nature of India- adaptable, diverse, and inclusionary.
Originally published at https://spark.live on August 15, 2020.
