In the Mahabharata, after Duryodhana is vanquished and the Kurukshetra war concludes, Lord Krishna leads Arjuna on his chariot to a secluded part of the battlefield. He then frees the horses and pushes Arjuna from the chariot. Just then, Lord Hanuman, residing in the flag on top of Arjuna’s chariot, vanishes leaving a bare cloth fluttering. The chariot explodes leaving behind embers. Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna that the force of divine weapons used by Bheeshma, Drona and Karna would have disintegrated the chariot a long time ago. It was only Lord Hanuman’s presence on the flag of the chariot that shielded him.
Since the dawn of civilisation, flags have had a special place as a symbol of belonging and protection and to rally people together. Stretching back to times immemorial, flags have been a part of the Indian tradition, symbolising glory and dharma. From the Seval Kodi held high by Kartikeya, the Surya flag carried by Lord Ramachandra in his quest to Lanka, King Yudhishtir’s Golden Moon flag of the Treta Yuga to the Patita pavana bana mysteriously flying in the opposite direction of the wind at the Jagannath Temple, Puri, flags have been a part of our cultural heritage in all four yugas. Similarly, the Nishan Sahib that depicts the temporal (Miri) and the spiritual (piri) has a special place in the heart of every practising Sikh. Indeed, Bharatvarsha has a rich history and tradition of using flags and symbols throughout the ages in various forms.
Therefore, it is not surprising when this tradition is continued while building India as a modern nation state, drawing from her civilisational ethos. The flag, therefore, is not just a vision for the future, but the values and foundations of our rich and illustrious past. On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted our National Flag. The flag that was finally chosen underwent several changes since it was originally designed by Pingali Venkayya in 1923. Venkayya was not just the architect of the flag but also a freedom fighter. He was known as Jhanda Venkayya as he published a book in 1916 on 30 designs for the Indian flag. August 2 marks his 146th birth anniversary and citizens across this country will now know more of his contributions in designing the flag that we have today.
