Tiraṅgā, the national flag of India otherwise also known as the Tricolour, was officially adopted by India on 22nd July 1947. 76 years on, it flies in all its majestyrepresenting the aspirations of 1.3 billion Indians, and the inspiration and sacrifices of thousands of martyrs of Bharat Ma.
The National flag of India consists of three colours. The top band is coloured saffron colour, indicating strength and courage of emerging Bharat. The white middle band indicates peace and truth,and this is imbibed with the Dharma Chakra with 24 spokes. The green bottom band signifies fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land.
The inclusion of the Dharma Chakra is intentional. It depicts the "wheel of law" in the Sarnath Lion Capital made by the 3rd-century BC Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.The chakra shows there is life in movement,but death in stagnation.
Gaining independence was of seismic proportion for a nation that had been enslaved by various tyrannies over 1200 years. For the first five decades of independence, India could not get rid of the enslaved mindset. Its leaders were trapped by their own inferiority complex instilled from birth by their colonial masters. However, over the past two decades we have seen a change with the green shoots of our own self confidence and reliance sprouting.
This established a reasonable foundation for something a bit more dramatic, however, India was still led by those who appeased to the imperial master. It was only in 2014 that for the first time in modern Indian history we saw the rise of a leader who had a laser like focus in taking India forward in becoming a dominant force on the global stage.
Enter PM Modiji. In the 9 years of his tenure, we have witnessed India take on the might of the east and the west. It no longer lives in the shadow of its imperial pastnor that of Islamic tyranny. It would take a whole book to write about how India has progressed in the past 9 years, but suffice to say, let me share a few headlines that provide the wind to fly the Tiraṅgā in all its glory.
• Article 370 (and article 35A) removed from constitution to make Jammu and Kashmir an equal part of India. Born is the concept of one nation, one people and one law.
• Since 2020, more than $200 billion in FDI. And the top five nations investing in India are: Singapore, Mauritius, USA, UAE, and the Netherlands.
• More than 489000000 bank accounts have been opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme.
• More than 800 000 000 were provided food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY).
• India has sent space missions to Mars and the Moon. Since 2014, it has launched more than 200 satellites for many nations.
• In 2022 alone there were 89.5 million digital transactions. This accounted for 46 per cent of the global real-time payments in 2022.
• In 2014 3.85m cars were produced in India, today it stands at over 5.5m.
76 years on, the Tiraṅgā is finally flying proudly over the whole of India. The Tiraṅgā is a reminder to every Indian, that today they enjoy freedom because their ancestors sacrificed themselves over centuries. On 22nd July, let’s take a minute to stand up and salute her. Let Vande Mataram fill your life with the spirit of a nation that is moving onwards and upwards to claim its rightful place in the world. It is the only nation with a heritage Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa – the very cornerstone of our collective humanity for the world of tomorrow.
