When I sent in the amendment, I had not seen the design of the Flag. There were at that time two or three, considerations uppermost in my mind. I thought that this Flag, being the Flag of our new Indian Republic, of Bharatavarsha, should adequately symbolise our ancient culture, the culture of our spirit, the spirit which has animated our sages and our seers, which gave the message of Shantam, Shivam, Sundaram to the world, the message of peace, the peace not merely of stillness, not merely a passive peace, but a dynamic peace thatpasseth all understanding, the peace of which the great Valmiki has sung (Samudraiva gambirye dhairyecha himavaniva). I thought, Sir, if the Swastika be inscribed inside the Chakra it would along with the Dharma Chakra of Asoka fittingly symbolise our ancient culture, that is to say, the exoteric and esoteric aspects of our culture. The Dharma Chakra symbolises the esoteric and the Swastika symbolises the esoteric aspects. But, Sir, I have now seen the flag and I find that it is somewhat hard to fit the Swastika into this Chakra. It would look cumbersome because of the design of the Chakra. The Chakra symbolises the Dharma Chakra or the Wheel of the Law, the Wheel of Samsara which revolves on these eternal verities ofShantam, Shivam, Sundaram. These verities sustain the Samsara and in them we as part of that universe live and move and have our being. Pandit Nehru referred to our role as peace-makers and peace-bringers. That is certainly true. India’s role has been that from years sempiternal, from the beginning of time. In the words of Swami Vivekananda, we have never dipped our hands in the neighbour’s blood, our embattled cohorts have never marched into other lands for conquest, and we have always been the harbingers of peace and the makers of peace in this war-torn, war-weary world. Mr. President, Sir, after having seen the design of this Flag, I do see that it is difficult to fit the Swastika in, much as I would like to see it fitted in. It would make it rather clumsy and cumbersome. In these circumstances, I do not press this amendment and beg leave of the House to withdraw it.
