Tiranga calls for unity, not division

Armed forces or NCC personnel would feel offended if they were given gyan on patriotism. After all, love for the motherland runs deep in our blood. Come to think of it, anyone would feel hurt if this basic emotion of a citizen is questioned. But that is increasingly happening in recent times because of opportunists waiting to gain from anti-national sentiments. The unseen enemy is certainly more dangerous.

Whatever may be the reason, and since revisiting the basics helps strengthen them, let’s take a close look at the Tiranga, fluttering all around as I-Day approaches. The three bands our national flag depicts, are the heart and soul of this nation, the guiding spirit for countless generations. The saffron band stands for courage and sacrifice, white for peace and truth, and the green one symbolises faith and fertility.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s first vice president, chose to describe the flag even more philosophically. He said: Bhagwa or the saffron denotes renunciation, emphasising that our leaders should be indifferent to material gain and dedicate themselves to the people who entrusted them with the big responsibility of running the country. The white denotes light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to the soil, and our relation to plant life here, on which all other life depends.

The Ashoka Chakra in the centre of the white band is the wheel of law or dharma. Truth or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is life in movement, death in stagnation. India should not resist change; it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of peaceful change.

The flag does not contain just these colours. It is a reflection of the pride every Indian feels in our rich past, our undying commitment to the present and the dreams we cherish for the future. It’s time to reaffirm these commitments as the nation’s minorities feel threatened, and are being selectively targeted and systematically sidelined. Added to that is the ever-increasing rich-poor divide. The cumulative result is that development is taking a severe beating.

 Let the national flag be the embodiement of our dreams and help us make the country become the $5 trillion economy everyone here hopes it will become – unwavering unity and a clean conscience. Let Har Ghar Tiranga and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations bring in the order, passion and selflessness this country needs so much. Jai Hind!