This was the ‘original article‘ re.colours of the Indian flag, written in July, 2020. I hope it gives perspective & we do not turn excessively inward: I do not anticipate that occurring, as we do have a larger perspective.
From: "Ivan D." <ivand...@yahoo.com> Date: 2020-08-14 10:16 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Ivan DP <ivand...@yahoo.com> Subject: Aug 14 & 15, 1947: Independence of Pakistan & India I hope u have/find the time to read this, & that it provides a historical perspective of the events of 14-15, 1947, & the decades before 1947. - Ivan D. ✌🏽👣 Aug 14 & 15, 1947: Independence of Pakistan & India: The first flag below (with the wheel, ‘chakra) is that of the Republic of India (Independence in 1947). The second flag (below left, orange on left)) is that of the Republic of Ireland (war of independence, 1918-1922, & included in the Irish Constitution in 1937). It was first flown in 1848 (by Thomas Francis Meagher). The third flag (below right, green on left) is of the Ivory Coast (independence in 1960). Historical perspective: The Indian independence leaders admired the Irish. They felt that the Irish, with close territorial proximity to Great Britain, still won their independence, & they wondered why they were having difficulty 1000s of miles away. So, it is not very clear if the same colours are just a coincidence, or whether the Indian independence leaders were reaching out to Europe, & making a statement with the flag colours that they were not making it excessively a racial issue. Some British leaders sought European support, stating just that, & attempting to isolate India from the international community. Ivory Coast got their independence in 1960, again difficult to imagine the same colours are a coincidence (green the grasslands of the Savannahs, white the rivers, orange the coastal areas). When an Ivorian coast woman won the World Indoor 60m dash, 1988, she had no flag. She borrowed the Irish one, reversed it (backwards, so green was first), & ran the victory lap with it. For the Irish, green signified the Catholics, orange the Protestants, & white a truce between the two. India considered green the (agricultural) wealth of the land, white meant ‘purity’, & orange ‘spirituality’. The wheel in the middle (Chakra) represented Asoka the Great, & Indian civilization of his time. In my view, our planet is shrinking, inter-related intrinsically & in practical terms, & in time we will celebrate & fight for ‘sovereignty’ at different levels, from the autonomy of the individual to the well-being of our planet. Decades ago, there was a small radioactive leak from a nuclear power plant in New Jersey. Six months later, scientists sent teams to collect snow samples from Mount Everest & Mount K2, (the tallest mountain), from places no human being has been. The snow samples examined in the laboratory had ‘the signature’ of that radioactive leak. Increasingly, we will have to solve challenges & find solutions at a global level, while protecting our sovereignties at different levels, and the primacy of the ‘nation-state’ will take a back seat to emerging universal values related to our collective survival. Of course, the struggles of peoples of the earth & humanity for freedom will continue to be remembered, & freedom gained celebrated ! (PS. Why Aug 14 at the top? Pakistan was given independence on Aug 14, 1947, so Pakistanis claim they got independence first. SURE !) Sept 15 is a huge feast in southern Italy, celebrating the ‘Ascension of Our Lady’, when her body & soul (not just her soul) went to Heaven, one of the Mysteries of the Catholic faith (I am not sure if all Protestant denominations celebrate Aug 15 in the same way). I assume that is a coincidence, too, not just a reaching out to Europe by the Indian independence leaders, who kept stressing that they did not want independence to be construed as primarily a racial issue, tho it was also very much that ! I hope this gives some perspective to the outstanding leadership in a very debilitating time in history. AHIMSA ! 🙏🏼☮️ Sent from my iPhone
