What is it about a piece of cloth that so moves our minds? Naveen Jindal writes on the mystique of the national flag as India celebrates its 62nd Independence Day.
By Naveen Jindal
In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that it was the fundamental right of every Indian to display the national flag in a dignified manner, culminating a decade-long legal battle that secured for all of us the freedom to revel in our national colours.
Even more than it is to the Americans who love to wear the stars and stripes literally on their sleeves the tricolour is of historic importance to us. This is because never in its history, before 1947, had India stood as a single united nation, ruled by its own people, its freedom epitomized by a single national flag. Never before 1947, did the people of India have one flag that bound the whole nation in a liberating spirit of freedom.
Apart from being evocative of great leaders and their epic struggle for our nationhood, the tiranga in fact enshrines the very soul of our republic and the ideals of its Constitution– unity, sovereignty and secularism.
It is because of this that for every Indian patriot the tricolour transcends the plane of tokenism. It is a combination of hues that we like to see soaring up a tall mast to the tune of the national anthem and blowing freely in the wind atop our buildings, celebrating an identity we won with extraordinary courage. Like the Supreme Court said in its judgement: “From time immemorial people have laid down their lives to salute their own Flag.”
It is not clear what is it about a piece of cloth that has such an affect on our minds; why those colours inspires us to efforts beyond our capacity. But the fact is that the rising tricolour is what gives us the goose bumps when an Abhinav Bindra or a Rajyavardhan Rathore steps up on an Olympic podium. It is what makes great champions and brave soldiers cry with joy; it is what many of our leaders lived and died for. As the Supreme Court said, “the National Flag indisputably stands for the whole nation, its ideals, aspirations, its hopes and achievements.”
In the end, the Tiranga embraces the spirit of life itself, meant to be expressed not strangled by a legal noose. This is because the three colours not only symbolize the essential values of life, they are also a liberating metaphor for the fearless struggle of millions of people for self determination against the world’s mightiest power—a struggle that ended with freedom and martyrdom.
Today, as India, the world’s largest democracy, breaks decisively out of an economic eclipse and creates a dominant place for itself in the Global Sun it feels even better to wave the flag with abandon. So, go out and flaunt, wave, fly and raise the Indian national flag all you can—but always with a sense of respect.
In his book, Our National Flag, Lt Cdr K V Singh said: “The National Flag stands for the whole nation, for its honour and glory.” When it goes up, “the heart of a true citizen is filled with pride.” To which, R Venkataraman, the former President of India said: “Our flag is both a benediction and beckoning. It contains the blessings of all those great souls who brought us freedom. But it also beckons us to fulfill their vision of a just and united India.” On this Independence Day we can all feel blessed by our Fundamental Right to raise our flag as high as we want, without fear. We found our voice in 1947. Now is the time for us to proudly display the supreme symbol of our nationhood and like Jawaharlal Nehru said, on August 14, 1947, “to keep our tryst with destiny” and reaffirm our “pledge of dedication to the service of India and to the still larger cause of humanity.”
(The author is a Member of Parliament and the man who led the legal battle for our right to display the national flag.)
