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2024-08-08 21:03 dustin  
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THE MEANING BEHIND THE TIRANGA (TRICOLOUR) FLAG CAN BE INTERPRETED EITHER IN A RELIGIOUS WAY OR, MORE MODERNLY, AS A REPRESENTATION OF THE IDEALS HELD UP BY THE WORLD'S MOST POPULATED COUNTRY.  
  
1. RELIGIOUS INTERPRETATION (HISTORIC):  
  
| SAFFRON ORANGE (FORMERLY RED): THE MOST SACRED COLOUR OF HINDUISM, INDIA'S MAIN RELIGION.  
  
Β WHITE FOR MINORITY RELIGIONS IN INDIA, OR ALTERNATIVELY THE COLOUR OF PEACE (BETWEEN HINDUS AND MUSLIMS).  
  
Β GREEN: TRADITIONAL COLOUR OF ISLAM, INDIA'S MAIN NOT-MAIN RELIGION.  
  
| THE WHEEL: in former versions of the flag, this was a usual spinning wheel to make one's own cloth. it was added to the flag to symbolize india's success in becoming independant of the british empire.  
  
THIS INTERPRETATION WAS THE ORIGINAL IDEA BEHIND THE DESIGN, BASED ON THE IDEAS OF THE FAMOUS INDIAN PACIFISTIC FREEDOM FIGHTER MAHATMA GANDHI IN 1921.  
  
THE FLAG OF IRELAND, ANOTHER COUNTRY WHICH STRUGGLED FOR INDEPENDANCE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE AT THAT TIME, WAS LIKELY AN IDOL (VERY SIMILAR COLOURS).  
  
2. INTERPRETATION BASED ON IDEALS (MODERN):  
THE FOLLOWING QUOTES ARE FROM THE SECOND INDIAN PRESIDENT S. RADHAKRISHNAN, describing his modern interpretation of the flag.  
  
| SAFFRON: (MATERIAL) disinterestedness  
"the saffron denotes denunciation or disinterestedness. OUR LEADERS MUST BE INDIFFERENT TO MATERIAL GAINS AND DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THEIR WORK."  
  
| WHITE = LIGHT/TRUTH (see also the indian national motto below!)  
"the white in the centre is light, THE PATH OF TRUTH TO GUIDE OUR CONDUCT."  
  
| GREEN = NATURE  
"THE GREEN SHOWS OUR RELATION TO THE SOIL, OUR RELATION TO THE PLANT LIFE HERE, ON WHICH ALL OTHER LIFE DEPENDS."  
  
| THE BLUE WHEEL IS THE "ASHOKA CHAKRA" (CHAKRA = WHEEL; ASHOKA THE GREAT WAS AN EMPEROR OF ANCIENT INDIA AROUND 250 B.C.). the wheel is the symbol of buddhism. the former president interprets the wheel in a very practical sense which is well understandable without deeper knowledge about indian religions:  
"the ashoka chakra in the middle of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma.* truth and virtue ought to be the controlling principles of those who work under the flag. the wheel also denotes motion. there is death in stagnation. there is life in movement. india should no longer resist change, it must move and go forward. the wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change."  
* "dharma" is a deep religious term which cannot really be translated in one word. it is a big life concept that includes:  
\ non-violence and other virtues  
\ yoga  
\ law and justice  
\ religious rituals and rites  
\ the four stages of life according to hinduism; these are commonly translated as "student", "householder", "forest walker" and "renunciate".  
\ learning and other duties.  
  
the indian motto "truth alone triumphs", written in the ancient indian language sanskrit, is taken from the vedas (veda = knowledge), an ancient collection of hinduistic scripts. the motto is really not written on the national flag, but on the national emblem.

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2024-08-09 22:05 dustin  
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btw, the score you get for solving the cave was supposed to have something to do with india, although now i noted that my source was out of date, so the number should be bigger today. bonus question: what is the number (1421) supposed to mean? :d

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2024-08-10 11:07 nesdori  
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 dustin , i have two guesses: either current year of the bengali calendar but in that case your source is 10 years off or the population of india in millions in which case your source is only about two years off :)

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2024-08-10 22:03 dustin  
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it is your second guess, although i like your first one as well; it inspired me to just check which caleandar is officially used in india today :d