We have some new residents in our neighborhood — they moved here from Leesburg, but their nationality is Indian. So I thought a fitting topic for today would be India and it’s independence. In fact, today is the National Day of India — Indian Independence Day — always celebrated on August 15th. In India, it’s also known as “I-Day” — a public holiday that marks the date, in 1947, when India became an independent country. India’s Independence Day is a “dry” day in India — the sale of alcohol is not permitted.
By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent and India was seen as the “Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947.
The Indian Independence Bill, which carves out the independent nations of India and Pakistan went into force at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947. The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule.
The Indian national flag is a horizontal tricolor of saffron, white and green. A chakra, or wheel, is in the center of the flag. The color saffron represents courage, sacrifice and renunciation, the white denotes truth and purity and the green stands for life, faith and chivalry. The wheel symbolizes unceasing motion and progress. The flag was approved on July 22nd 1947 and presented to the Indian nation on August 15th 1947.
Happy Independence Day to our Indian friends….
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