Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The National Flag is an international symbol of the prosperity of the nation. The Indian Flag is a band consisting three colours and the Chakra symbol, where each colour signifies a different meaning. Saffron on top signifies the strength and courage of the country; the centre represents peace and truth; and the green colour at the bottom signifies fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. The Ashoka Chakra, also called the Dharma Chakra, is placed at the centre and has 24 spokes signifying that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.
Free Press questioned 60 youths, including university students, about the significance of the three colours of the National Flag and only about 25% were able to answer the questions about the flag. But, interestingly, every individual has a different idea and meaning of the colours. Dheer Gupta, a citizen, said, “It’s a certain direct question and I need time to recall. But, according to my knowledge, saffron colour means strength, white depicts peace and green stands for agricultural prosperity.”
Medha Shukla, another citizen, said the colours of the Flag—saffron, white and green—represent power, peace and satiety, respectively. She added, “I feel that these things were only taught in the GK books of schools, and the way we passed the test was through cramming. This makes it difficult for everyone to remember the exact significance of these colours.”
Among the crowd, around 20 people said that the Flag consists of orange colour instead of saffron, but were reluctant to disclose their identity.
Vox Populi
‘The saffron in the Indian Flag for me stands for courage, The white for the very valuable peace and the green for fertile land. The Dharma Chakra represents the diversity in religions which is a very significant quality of India’ — Tanya Jethwani, university student
‘The Indian National Flag portrays India’s long struggle for Freedom. It signifies the status of India as an Independent Republic. Saffron depicts the symbol of courage and sacrifice. White represents honesty, purity and peace among citizens. Green is a token of faith, prosperity, vibrance and courtesy. The Ashok Chakra is also known as the Dharma Chakra or Wheel of the Law. It has 24 spokes and appears on a number of commands of Ashoka’ — Khushi Raj, university student
‘The saffron band is a symbol of sacrifice. The green stripe at the bottom represents happiness. The white stripe in the middle represents peace and purity. First, there was the spinning wheel in the centre which was replaced by Ashoka’s ‘Dharam Chakra’ with 24 spikes that represent continuous growth and progress of the country’ — Muskan Ransore, citizen
‘Saffron is the colour of bravery of soldiers who protect the nation. White stands for peace and green represents greenery—mainly agricultural prosperity of the nation. The 24 strokes of the Ashok Chakra indicate 24 hours of the day’ — Anishka Burde, citizen
‘Saffron represents renunciation of disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. White represents light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. Green represents relation to soil, our relation to the plant. The Ashok Chakra seen on the Indian National Flag is rendered in a navy blue colour on a white background. The Ashoka Chakra has 24 spokes which inspire every Indian to work tirelessly for 24 hours’ — Girija Wdhwani, university student
