India's National Flag

-- THE HINDU dated April 26, 1956

The Indian National Flag has all the elements of a universal flag, observed the Vice-President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, while presiding over a meeting of the council of directors of the Nations' League of Pen Friends in New Delhi. He said: "There is nothing specifically national about its symbols. On the other hand, it conveys a message of world prosperity to be attained by self-discipline and order against eternal time. The Ashoka Chakra, the Wheel of Time, represents the Cosmos, working against the white background of eternity, the saffron at the top symbolises discipline and self-control, while the green below points to the creation of prosperity." Dr. Radhakrishnan said that when he explained this to Mahatma Gandhi, he admired it, even though in his characteristic way he opined that it was "unintentional." The Vice-President commended the ideals of the League to promote the establishment of a free world State, based on the principles of liberty, equality and justice and its principles of allegiance "not only to a particular nation, but to all humanity."