When we see the colours of our flag we should keep in mind other things also. I want to tell those who say that the saffron colour represents Hindus, that it is wrong to say so. No doubt at one time it was the colour of the Hindus. During the regime of the Peshwas it was the colour of the Hindus. In their fights for freedom, Rajputs used saffron dress and saffron ensign. But if we go more remote into the past, we will have to accept that saffron was not the colour of these times. You may be knowing that in the times of Mahabharata there was no question of colour. The flag flying over the chariot of Arjun had the symbol of Hanuman. Karna’s flag had the symbol of the elephant. Therefore to describe any colour as the ancientcolour of the Hindus is historically wrong. I say that it is natural that the flag under which we fought the battle of freedom during the last twenty-seven years and have now achieved independence, should be our national flag. I am pained to see that at present, some people maddened with communalism are bringing about such events, which I am confident, after sometime when sense will dawn upon them, will make them very much ashamed of themselves. Only day before yesterday a meeting was held in Delhi regarding Hindi. The motion that Hindi should be the national language and Devanagari script the national script, was to be moved in the meeting. Pandemonium prevailed in the meeting and national flags were removed from cars and thrown away. I say that to be mad with communalism and to do such things and to insult the flag in this way is an insult to the whole nation. Human beings live in this country and not gods and they have the three dispositions of “Satvaguna, Rajoguna and Tamoguna” (‘goodness, passion and dullness’). If such incidents occur, peace, righteousness and happiness of which this flag is the symbol, will disappear from this land. Therefore I warn these people, who are mad with communalism that they should not do such things. As regards the green colour, there was a time when this was the colour of the flag of the war of Independence. I would remind you of the war of Independence of 1857. At that time, the colour of our flag was green and under it we fought that battle. It was at that time not the colour of Muslims alone or of Hindus but of all those who fought the war of Independence. Therefore nothing is more painful than to be against any particular colour and that too at a time when the whole of India is becoming independent and this flag will be hoisted everywhere in the country. We have styled this flag as a world-conqueror and have spoken of its conquest of the world with love. We want to conquer the world with non-violence and love. This is its symbol. When we will have done that, we will have fulfilled our pledge. I support this resolution with all my heart.]*
