Certain people, out of ignorance or otherwise have read a communalist meaning into the Indian National Flag, i.e. they have wrongly said that the Indian National Flag or some part of it refers to one community or another. That is not true.
My idol, the great Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishna said the following about the Indian National Flag in his address to the Constituent Assembly:
"Bhagwa or the saffron color 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 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. 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."
The official website of the High Commission of India in London states "The saffron stands for courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation; the white, for purity and truth; and the green for faith and fertility.
In a nutshell, the meaning behind the Indian National Flag is:
Saffron: Courage, Sacrifice and the Spirit of Renunciation;
White: Purity and Truth
Green: Faith and Fertility
Ashoka Chakra (Wheel): The wheel of the law of Dharma.
“Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work.”
That was the sentiment of the people who helped build this country. Nowadays, it is far from the truth. I hope some day we can realize that dream.
Courtesy: CRW Flags Online Cagalogue
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