The greatest day for all
of us is 15th August ~ Indian Independence Day. Let
us celebrate 71st Independence Day of the Nation in a grand manner. 70 years ago, it was on this day [rather
night] – the Union Jack faded descended for one last time from the flagstaff of
Viceroy’s house at New Delhi marking the symbolic end to imperialism and the
awakening of the spirit of free India.
Winston
Churchill passionately held the conviction that British rule in India had been
just and exercised in India's best interests ! ; that her masses looked on
their rulers with gratitude and affection; that the politicians agitating for independence
were a petty-minded, half-educated elite, unreflective of the desires or
interests of the masses. He contemptuously dismissed those fighting for freedom
of India as 'men of straw'.
When
the day beckoned, Louis Mountbatten and
his advisers, drawing on those manuals which had ordered all the grandiose
manifestations of the Raj, had estimated 3o,ooo people would attend the
celebrations. The figure was wrong, not by a few thousand but well over half a
million. Never before had anyone ever seen anything remotely like it in India's
capital city.
இந்த உலகில் ‘சத்யம்,
தர்மம், அழகு, படிப்பு, வீரம், ஒழுக்கம் என்று எல்லா நல்ல குணங்கள் கொண்ட மனிதன் யாரேனும்
உண்டா?’ என்று வால்மீகி முனிவர் கேட்க, நாரத பகவான் ‘உண்டு. அவர் தான் இக்ஷ்வாகு வம்சத்தில்
வந்த தசரத குமாரர் ஸ்ரீராமர்’ என்று கூறி வால்மீகி முனிவருக்கு ராம சரித்திரத்தை சுருக்கமாக
நூறு சுலோகங்களில் உபதேசித்தார். இது வால்மீகி ராமாயணத்தின் முதல் ஸர்கம்.
The great sage Valmiki
wanted to know about that man – who is the epitome of all virtues ~ of Truth,
Honesty, Beauty, Scholarliness, Valour and discipline ~ Omniscient Sage
Narada replies that is *Maryadha purush Sri Rama* Himself. ~ and epic Ramayana was
born…. The greatest Epic “Sri Ramayana” is a smriti [written from memory as
seen and heard].. .. .. The
following phrase is a Sanskrit sloka uttered by Sri Rama Himself…
“Janani Janma-bhoomi-scha
Swargadapi Gariyasi" ( जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी)
~ it translates to mean
“Mother and Motherland are superior to Heaven”.. This part of Valmiki
Ramayana - Rama uttering this while
addressing Lakshmana after their victory over (demon)
king Ravana.
अपि स्वर्णमयी लङ्का न मे लक्ष्मण रोचते जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी
"Lakshmana, even this
golden Lanka does not appeal to me, mother and motherland are greater than
heaven."
Independence was granted by
an Act – ‘The Indian Independence Act 1947’ passed by the Parliament of
the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent
dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received the royal assent on 18 July
1947, and Pakistan came into being on 15 August at the same time as Indian
independence. However, due to Mountbatten's need to be in New Delhi for the
transfer of power, Pakistan celebrated its formation a day ahead on 14 August
1947 to enable the viceroy Lord Mountbatten to attend both events ! The
legislation was formulated by the government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee
and the Governor General of India Lord Mountbatten, after representatives of
the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and the Sikh community came to
an agreement with the Viceroy of India, on what has come to be known as
the 3 June Plan or Mountbatten Plan.
Independence was not
achieved in a day ~ nor through a single enactment. The struggle and sacrifices
encompass millions of activities right from 1757 spanning 190 years till 1947.
Many names have been forgotten, many did not receive the honours their
sacrifices deserve – may be due to doctored history.
Triranga or the National
Flag was first recognized in 1906 in Calcutta Meeting; the next occasion was in
1907 by Madame Cama; in 1917 Lokmanya Bala Gangatara Tilak and Annie Besant
hoisted it; in 1931, it was the Tri-colour designed by Pingali Venkayya with
Spinning wheel at its middle.
The National flag
of India was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the
Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the official flag of
the Dominion of India. The term "tricolour" always refers to
the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the
Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya. The flag, by law, is to
be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun cloth of cotton or silk made
popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The manufacturing process and specifications for the
flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards – the length should be 1.5
times more than the width.
Usage of the flag is
governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national
emblems. The original code prohibited use of the flag by private citizens
except on national days such as the Independence day and the Republic Day. In
2002, on hearing an appeal from Naveen Jindal, the Supreme Court of India
directed the Government of India to amend the code to allow flag usage by
private citizens. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet of India amended the code to
allow limited usage. Karnataka Khadi
Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha (KKGSS) is a manufacturing federation located in the
Bengeri area of the city of Hubli in the Karnataka, state
of India. It is the only unit in India that is authorised to
manufacture and supply the Flag of India.
IN Capital New Delhi, India Gate is a memorial to 82,000 soldiers of the
undivided Indian Army who died in the period 1914–21 in the First World War, in
France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in
the Near and the Far East, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. 13,300 servicemen's
names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, are
inscribed on the gate. In 1971, following
the Bangladesh Liberation war, a small simple structure, consisting of a black
marble plinth, with reversed rifle, capped by war helmet, bounded by four
eternal flames, was built beneath the soaring Memorial Archway. This structure,
called Amar Jawan Jyoti, or the Flame of the Immortal Soldier, since 1971 has
served as India's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
~ it is the time to celebrate the birth of this
Great Nation and remember those great men whose martyrdom gave us the fresh air
to breathe !! Jai Hind..
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
2017.
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