History of Indian Tricolor

 

History of Indian Tricolor "A flag is a necessity for all nations. Millions have died for it.  It is no doubt a kind of idolatry which would be a sin to destroy. For, a flag represents an Ideal The unfurling of the Union Jack evokes  in the English breast sentiments whose strength it is difficult to measure. The Stars and Stripes mean a world to the Americans. The Star and the Crescent will call forth the best bravery in Islam." "It will be necessary for us Indians Muslims, Christians Jews, Parsis, and all others to whom India is their home-to recognize a common flag to live and to die for." - Mahatma Gandhi Every free nation of the world has its own flag. It is a symbol of a free country. The National Flag of India was designed by Pingali Venkayyaand and adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on the 22 July 1947, a few days before India's independence from the British on 15 August, 1947. It served as the national flag of the Dominion of India between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950 and that of the Republic of India thereafter. In India, the term "tricolour" refers to the Indian national flag. The National flag of India is a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron (kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. Evolution of the Tricolour It is really amazing to see the various changes that our National Flag went through since its first inception. It was discovered or recognised during our national struggle for freedom. The evolution of the Indian National Flag sailed through many vicissitudes to arrive at what it is today. In one way it reflects the political developments in the nation. Some of the historical milestones in the evolution of our National Flag involve the following: Unofficial flag of India in 1906 The Berlin committee flag, first raised by Bhikaiji Cama in 1907 The flag used during the Home Rule movement in 1917 The flag unofficially adopted in 1921 The flag adopted in 1931. This flag was also the battle ensign of the Indian National Army The present Tricolour flag of India   The first national flag in India is said to have been hoisted on August 7, 1906, in the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park) in Calcutta now Kolkata. The flag was composed of three horizontal strips of red, yellow and green.   The second flag was hoisted in Paris by Madame Cama and her band of exiled revolutionaries in 1907 (according to some inl9OS). This was very similar to the first flag except that the top strip had only one lotus but seven stars denoting the Saptarishi. This flag was also exhibited at a socialist conference in Berlin.   The third flag went up in 1917 when our political struggle had taken a definite turn. Dr. Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak hoisted it during the Home rule movement. This flag had five red and four green horizontal strips arranged alternately, with seven stars in the saptarishi configuration super-imposed on them. In the left-hand top corner (the pole end) was the Union Jack. There was also a white crescent and star in one corner.   During the session of the All India Congress Committee which met at Bezwada in 1921 (now Vijayawada) an Andhra youth prepared a flag and took it to Gandhiji. It was made up of two colours-red and green-representing the two major communities i.e. Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji suggested the addition of a white strip to represent the remaining communities of India and the spinning wheel to symbolise progress of the Nation.   The year 1931 was a landmark in the history of the flag. A resolution was passed adopting a tricolor flag as our national flag. This flag, the forbear of the present one, was saffron, white and green with Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel at the center. It was, however, clearly stated that it bore no communal significance and was to be interpreted thus. On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted it as Free India National Flag. After the advent of Independence, the colours and their significance remained the same. Only the Dharma Charkha of Emperor Asoka was adopted in place of the spinning wheel as the emblem on the flag. Thus, the tricolour flag of the Congress Party eventually became the tricolour flag of Independent India. Colours of the Flag: In the national flag of India the top band is of Saffron colour, indicating the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The last band is green in colour shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. The Chakra: This Dharma Chakra depicted the "wheel of the law" in the Sarnath Lion Capital made by the 3rd-century BC Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. The chakra intends to show that there is life in movement and death in stagnation. Flag Code On 26th January 2002, the Indian flag code was modified and after several years of independence, the citizens of India were finally allowed to hoist the Indian flag over their homes, offices and factories on any day and not just National days as was the case earlier. Now Indians can proudly display the national flag any where and any time, as long as the provisions of the Flag Code are strictly followed to avoid any disrespect to the tricolour. For the sake of convenience, Flag Code of India, 2002, has been divided into three parts. Part I of the Code contains general description of the National Flag. Part II of the Code is devoted to the display of the National Flag by members of public, private organizations, educational institutions, etc. Part III of the Code relates to display of the National Flag by Central and State governments and their organisations and agencies. There are some rules and regulations upon how to fly the flag, based on the 26 January 2002 legislation. These include the following: The Do's: The National Flag may be hoisted in educational institutions (schools, colleges, sports camps, scout camps, etc.) to inspire respect for the Flag. An oath of allegiance has been included in the flag hoisting in schools. A member of public, a private organization or an educational institution may hoist/display the National Flag on all days and occasions, ceremonial or otherwise consistent with the dignity and honour of the National Flag. Section 2 of the new code accepts the right of all private citizens to fly the flag on their premises. The Don'ts The flag cannot be used for communal gains, drapery, or clothes. As far as possible, it should be flown from sunrise to sunset, irrespective of the weather. The flag cannot be intentionally allowed to touch the ground or the floor or trail in water. It cannot be draped over the hood, top, and sides or back of vehicles, trains, boats or aircraft. No other flag or bunting can be placed higher than the flag. Also, no object, including flowers or garlands or emblems can be placed on or above the flag. The tricolour cannot be used as a festoon, rosette or bunting. The Indian National Flag represents the hopes and aspirations of the people of India. It is the symbol of our national pride. Over the last five decades, several people including members of armed forces have ungrudgingly laid down their lives to keep the tricolour flying in its full glory.

Life's dictionary

Go through this dictionary.. ...
Sometimes it may feel like A poem of everything.. .

CIGARETTE:
A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other!

MARRIAGE:
It's an agreement wherein a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her master

DIVORCE:
Future Tense of Marriage

LECTURE:
An art of transmitting Information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of students without passing through the minds of either

CONFERENCE:
The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present

COMPROMISE:
The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece

TEARS:
The hydraulic force by which masculine will power is defeated by feminine water-power!

DICTIONARY:
A place where divorce comes before marriage

CONFERENCE ROOM:
A place where everybody talks,nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on

ECSTASY:
A feeling when you feel you are going to feel a feeling you have never felt before

CLASSIC:
A book which people praise, but never read

SMILE:
A curve that can set a lot of things straight!

OFFICE:
A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life
YAWN:
The only time when some married men ever get to open their mouth

ETC:
A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do

COMMITTEE:
Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together

EXPERIENCE:
The name men give to their Mistakes

ATOM BOMB:
An invention to bring an end to all inventions

PHILOSOPHER:
A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead

DIPLOMAT:
A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip

OPPORTUNIST:
A person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river

OPTIMIST:
A person who while falling from EIFFEL TOWER says in midway "SEE I AM NOT INJURED YET!"

PESSIMIST:
A person who says that O is the last letter in ZERO, Instead of the first letter in OPPORTUNITY

MISER:
A person who lives poor so that he can die RICH!

FATHER:
A banker provided by nature

CRIMINAL:
A guy no different from the other, unless he gets caught

BOSS:
Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early

POLITICIAN:
One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence Later

DOCTOR:
A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills

Travesty of Justice.........

It is said that “All are equal, in the eyes of law”.

However, how true is it and how fairly is it adopted in India, is questionable. Look at these classic cases, of politicians, sons of politicians, top beauracrats / police officers etc., have got away with impunity after having committed serious crimes against hapless individuals.

These people in high places, have used their power, muscle power, administration, the police and the government (politicians & bureaucrats) to suppress evidences, muzzle the opponents and influence investigating authorities and ultimately managing to go scot free or with minimum punishment despite glaring evidences of their involvement, much to the chagrin & disappointment of the hapless victims and the society at large.

History has been replete with all kinds of controversies which are illustrative of the malaise the Indian political structure is facing in the post-independence period.

Shibu Soren

To understand Indian politics, it would be interesting going through the life and times of Shibu Soren- another rags to riches politician. He who was born in an ordinary tribal family later rose to dizzy heights. He has been a member of the Parliament many a times and has also been a Union Cabinet minister more than once and even got his life-time ambition of becoming the Chief minister fulfilled when he reached this coveted post firstly for a few days, then second time and now in Jan 10, the third time thanks & courtesy the BJP party.

Shibu Soren has a earned nation-wide notoriety for his alleged role in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) case where there was a reported deal between the Congress and the JMM to save the then Narasimha Rao government during the July 1993 no-confidence motion, in what is popularly known as the JMM bribery scandal. He was ultimately jailed in the bribery case.

He has also been convicted by a Delhi district court in the murder of his private secretary Shashi Nath Jha in 1994 and awarded life term which was later set aside by the Delhi High Court in August, 2007 on some technical grounds. The case of his secretary's death was vigorously investigated by the CBI. Jha's skeleton was found in the jungles outside Ranchi almost two years after the killing. Soren first got convicted by a trial court but then managed to secure an acquittal as well. This was a case when Soren was already in the business of power.

But the Chirudih massacre case dates back to a time when Soren was a true revolutionary. He was accused of instigating a mob that killed nine Muslims and policemen in a battle between tribals and non-tribals.

In 2004, he became coal minister in the Manmohan Singh government. He was forced to quit the cabinet in July 2004 after a warrant pending against him in the Chirudih massacre surfaced.

Soren was again made a minister in the central government in October 2004. He quit the cabinet in March 2005 after becoming Jharkhand chief minister. But he failed to prove his majority in the assembly, and had to step down.

Soren was again inducted in the central cabinet in 2006. He had to leave the central cabinet again in October that year after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his personal secretary Shashinath Jha.

He appealed, and was acquitted by the Delhi High Court in 2007. He has also been let off in the Chirudih massacre case.

But look at the impunity of this person who after having secured bail after spending over a month in judicial custody forced the UPA government to re-induct him into the Cabinet and was given back the same coal ministry. Soon, there was the Jharkhand state elections in 2005. After the results he became the CM for nine days and then resigned after his failure to obtain a vote of confidence in the assembly.

And despite all these badges of dishonor, the man remains completely unperturbed, undisturbed and unaffected as if these are part of a politician’s required bio-data.


DIG Rathore accused of molestation and abetment of suicide of Ruchika

It took 19 years, 16 witnesses, and ten years of court trial to convict S P S Rathore, the former DGP of Haryana, in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case. But Rathore was given bail after being sentenced for a six-month jail term and levied a Rs.1,000 fine by a CBI special court.

To unravel the details of the two-decade-long case, we need to travel back to 1990, when budding tennis player Ruchika Girhotra was molested by the then Haryana IGP S P S Rathore and decided to file a complaint against him. But that complaint changed her life forever.

Ruchika was expelled from the tennis club, expelled from her school and harassed repeatedly to take back her complaint. In addition, her brother Ashu, who was also a teenager, was arrested and slapped with several charges of car theft. Her entire family was subjected to repeated harassment, till Ruchika decided to end her life in 1993.

However, the case did not end there. Aradhana, her close friend and a key witness in the case, decided to continue the fight. And Anand Prakash, her father, also joined the cause.

After nearly 450 visits to courts in different cities, Anand Prakash eventually succeeded in getting Rathore convicted. Soon after the conviction, there was a national uproar against the short sentence and treatment meted out in the case, and the untimely death of the young girl.

A second round of investigation revealed that Rathore had been protected by successive CMs of Haryana, especially former Haryana chief minister Chauthala, though he promptly denied it. This apart, Rathore influenced CBI officials and cops probing the case and asked them to turn a blind eye to the incident.

Now, fresh complaints are being pressed against Rathore for attempt to murder, abetting suicide, and it remains to be seen how the retrial will take shape.

Bitti Hotra, son of Orissa Police Officer, accused of allegedly raping a German Tourist

BB Mahanti, one of the senior most police officers of Orissa, is accused of helping his son, Bitti Hotra – a rape convict – jump parole and evade police arrest, after a fast track court in Rajasthan convicted his son for allegedly raping a foreign German tourist.

The court later issued a fresh non-bailable arrest warrant against the senior Mohanti on October 3, 2007 viable till November 15, after the Orissa police sought more time. The court has also directed the Cuttack district collector to prepare a list of the property of the senior IPS officer for forfeiture.

B B Mahanti and his son suddenly went into hiding when the duo saw the long hand of law catching up with them.

Unable to trace the senior Mohanti, the Cuttack police issued a public notice to the absconding officer on Dec 07 last year, declaring him a “proclaimed offender” who has been evading arrest since May 28, 2007. He subsequently surfaced and managed to get a bail and subsequent let off. However his son is still underground and efforts are on by the Police to track him and arrest him Rourkela, Puri, Sambalpur in Orissa, Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh, Putapurthy, Delhi and Calcutta.

All six ABVP students acquitted in Ujjain professor murder case

Professor Sabharwal, was the head of the political science department of Madhav College, Ujjain, died in August, 2009, after violence in the college over student union elections when he was allegedly beaten up by the ABVP activists. Later, he died in a hospital. The incident was captured on tape by media television crew and widely aired on all national TV Channels.

However, nearly three years after they were accused in the murder of college professor H S Sabharwal in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, six ABVP activists were acquitted on Monday by a court in Nagpur for lack of evidence.

“The prosecution has failed to put up evidence to prove its case and hence the court acquits all six accused,” Additional Sessions Judge Nitin Dalvi said in his brief statement today in the court.

The case was transferred from Ujjain to Nagpur court vide a Supreme Court order in March 2008 in view of the fear that investigations could be tampered with in Madhya Pradesh, which has a BJP government and all accused reportedly belonged to ABVP, the party’s student wing.

While the accused hailed the judgement as “justice done since we knew we were innocent”, the late Ujjain professor’s son Himanshu has decided to challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court. “My father died once again today. The verdict is disappointing but not unexpected since the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh successfully managed to sabotage the case,” he said.

“The prosecution agency was never serious about the probe,” he said. “The entire evidence was suppressed and the case was rendered mere eyewash. If the police would have been serious, they could have built an unassailable case.”

In all 69 witnesses were presented before the court, but all key witnesses, including three policemen, turned hostile, weakening the prosecution case.

This despite the fact video evidence in the form of media CDs that had witnesses saying they had seen the assailants doing the act.”


All these examples makes us wonder if there is real justice in India and is it a Traversty of Justice in this country. These high placed people have made a mockery of Justice and its unfortunate that the Judiciary system has not been able to check these cases and runs the risk of losing its credibility in the eyes of the people. Its one thing to hide behind the law “contempt of court”, when challenged but to be seen as fair and to restore its credibility, the Judiciary system has to unveil itself from the protectionism and rise to the occasion.

How often we have seen petty thieves, silent demonstrators and common man being thrashed, handcuffed and paraded in public by the police and then languishing in jail. How many politicians or high profile people have been convicted and senteced to punishment and really served their sentence in jail. Hardly any.

India has a long history and tradition of upholding “nyaya, dharma and needhi”. Will the present Judiciary system rise to the occasion, only time will tell.

Its in its own interest that the Judiciary lives by the principles of :

*All are equal before law and no one is above law
*Justice delayed is justice denied
*Justice must not only be done, but percieved to have been done

At the current state of affairs, Im afraid the Indian judiciary is not living upto these principles. Its time that the Judiciary realises this and rises to the occassion to instill some confidence in the people of India in the judiciary system.

Meanwhile its heartening to note that the media is filling in the gap and publicly trying these villains and mounting pressure on the Government, the administration and the Judiciary to relook at these cases and bring these perpetrators of justice to book and ensure punishment is commensurate to their acts of commission or omission. Its also heartening to note that the Government (Home Minister) is waking up and willing to reopen these cases and ensure proper justice is meted out to the victims.

Looks like P Chidambaram and Arnab Goswami are the last hope for the common man in their battle for “nyaya, dharma and needhi”.

How to spot an Indian

Ø Everything you eat is savored with garlic, onions and chillies.
Ø You try and re-use gift wrappers, gift boxes, and of course aluminum foil.
Ø You are standing next to the two largest size suitcases at the airport.
Ø You arrive one or two hours late to a party, and think it's normal.
Ø You peel the stamps off letters that the postal service missed to stamp.
Ø Your toilet has a plastic bowl next to the commode.
Ø All your children have pet names, which sound nowhere close to their real names.
Ø You talk for an hour at the front door when leaving someone's house.
Ø You load up the family car with as many people as possible.
Ø You use plastic to cover anything new in your house whether it's the remote control, VCR, carpet or new couch .
Ø You live with your parents even if you are 40 years old. (And they like it that way).
Ø If she is NOT your daughter, you always take interest in knowing whose daughter has run with whose son and feel it's your duty to spread the word.
Ø You only make long distance call after 11pm.
Ø If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.
Ø When your parents meet Indian for the first time and talk for a few minutes, you soon discover they are your relatives.
Ø Your parents don't realize phone connections to foreign countries have improved in the last two decades, and still scream at the top of their lungs while talking.
Ø You have bed sheets on your sofas so as to keep them from getting dirty.
Ø It's embarrassing if your wedding has less than 600 people.You List your daughter as "fair and slim" in the matrimonial no matter what she looks like.
Ø You're always interested to know/interfere in others' personal matters, what they are doing, where they are going, etc.
Ø You have really enjoyed reading this mail because you know some, or most of them, applies to you!

Ha ha ha Hoz It?

The saddest story of the century - Indians succeed in countries ruled by whites, and fail in their own.

If we were to sum up our performance in the 20th century in one sentence. Indians have succeeded in countries ruled by whites, but failed in their own.

This outcome would have astonished leaders of our independence movement. They declared Indians were kept down by white rule and could flourish only under self-rule. This seemed self-evident The harsh reality today is that Indians are succeeding brilliantly in countries ruled by whites, but failing in India . They are flourishing in the USA and Britain .

But those that stay in India are pulled down by an outrageous system that fails to reward merit or talent. Fails to allow people and businesses to grow, and keeps real power with netas, babus, and assorted manipulators. Once Indians go to white-ruled countries, they soar and conquer summits once occupied only by whites.

Rono Dutta has become head of United Airlines, the biggest airline in the world. Had he stayed in India , he would have no chance in Indian Airlines. Even if the top job there was given to him by some godfather, a myriad netas, babus and trade unionists would have ensured that he could never run it like United Airlines.

Rana Talwar has become head of Standard Chartered Bank Plc, one of the biggest multinational banks in Britain , while still in his 40s. Had he been in India , he would perhaps be a local manager in the State Bank, taking orders from babus to give loans to politically favoured clients.

Rajat Gupta is head of Mckinsey, the biggest management consultancy firm in the world. He now advises the biggest multinationals on how to run their business. Had he remained in India he would probably be taking orders from some sethji with no qualification save that of being born in a rich family.

Lakhsmi Mittal has become the biggest steel baron in the world, with steel plants in the US , Kazakhstan , Germany , Mexico , Trinidad and Indonesia . India 's socialist policies reserved the domestic steel industry for the public sector. So Lakhsmi Mittal went to Indonesia to run his family's first steel plant there. Once freed from the shackles of India , he conquered the world.

Subhash Chandra of Zee TV has become a global media king, one of the few to beat Rupert Murdoch. He could never have risen had he been limited to India , which decreed a TV monopoly for Doordarshan. But technology came to his aid: satellite TV made it possible for him to target India from Hong Kong . Once he escaped Indian rules and soil, he soared.

You may not have heard of 48-year old Gururaj Deshpande. His communications company, Sycamore, is currently valued by the US stock market at over $ 30 billion, making him perhaps one of the richest Indians in the world. Had he remained in India , he would probably be a babu in the Department of Telecommunications.

Arun Netravali has become president of Bell Labs, one of the biggest research and development centres in the world with 30,000 inventions and several Nobel Prizes to its credit. Had he been in India , he would probably be struggling in the middle cadre of Indian Telephone Industries. Silicon Valley alone contains over one lac Indian millionaires.

Indra Nooyi was born in Chennai and did her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. She held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and textile firm Mettur Beardsell. She was admitted to Yale School of Management in 1978 and earned a Master's degree in Public and Private Management. Graduating in 1980, Nooyi joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and then held strategy positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri.[8] She joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named president and CFO in 2001 before going on to become the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of of PepsiCo, one of the world's leading food and beverage companies.

Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad is an Indian entrepreneur, consultant, and management expert. Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Ross School of Business of the University of Michigan.He is one of the recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Sammaan awards in 2009 and was conferred the Padma Bhushan, an Indian civilian award, the same year. In 2009 he was named the world's most influential business thinker on The Thinkers 50 list.

Sabeer Bhatia invented Hotmail and sold it to Microsoft for $ 400 million. Victor Menezes is number two in Citibank. Shailesh Mehta is CEO of Providian, a top US financial services company. Also at or near the top are Rakesh Gangwal of US Air, Jamshd Wadia of Arthur Andersen, and Aman Mehta of Hong Kong & amp; Shanghai Banking Corp.

In Washington DC , the Indian CEO High Tech Council has no less than 200 members, all high tech-chiefs. While Indians have soared, India has stagnated. At independence India was the most advanced of all colonies, with the best prospects.

Today with a GNP per head of $370, it occupies a lowly 177th position among 209 countries of the world. But poverty is by no means the only or main problem. India ranks near the bottom in the UNDP's Human Development Index, but high up in Transparency International's Corruption Index.

The neta-babu raj brought in by socialist policies is only one reason for India 's failure. The more sordid reason is the rule-based society we inherited from the British Raj is today in tatters. Instead money, muscle and influence matter most.

At independence we were justly proud of our politicians. Today we regard them as scoundrels and criminals. They have created a jungle of laws in the holy name of socialism, and used these to line their pockets and create patronage networks. No influential crook suffers. The Mafia flourish unhindered because they have political links.

The sons of police officers believe they have a licence to rape and kill (ask the Mattoo family). Talent cannot take you far amidst such rank misgovernance. We are reverting to our ancient feudal system where no rules applied to the powerful. The British Raj brought in abstract concepts of justice for all, equality before the law. These were maintained in the early years of independence. But sixty years later, citizens wail that India is a lawless land where no rules are obeyed.

The lack of transparent rules, properly enforced, is a major reason why talented Indians cannot rise in India . A second reason is the neta-babu raj, which remains intact despite supposed liberalisation. But once talented Indians go to rule-based societies in the west, they take off. In those societies all people play by the same rules, all have freedom to innovate without being strangled by regulations.

This, then, is why Indians succeed in countries ruled by whites, and fail in their own.

It is the saddest story of the century.