Wonders of Bhārat

On 15 August 1947, Bhārat ended 200 years of British rule and woke to freedom. At the stroke of midnight, Nehru's 'Tryst with Destiny' speech announced the birth of a free nation — and every year since, the tricolour rises over the Red Fort.

On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of Bhārat came into force and Bhārat became a republic — a nation that rules itself. The date was chosen to honour the Purna Swaraj declaration of 1930, and it is marked by the grand Republic Day parade.

Written in 1904 by the poet Muhammad Iqbal, 'Saare Jahan Se Achha' is the most beloved patriotic song in the Urdu-Hindi tradition. For over a century it has been sung at every patriotic occasion — a hymn of love for the land of Hindustan.

At the centre of the flag stands the Ashoka Chakra of Bhārat — the navy-blue wheel with twenty-four spokes, taken from the Lion Capital of Ashoka. It replaced the spinning wheel in 1947 and stands for the eternal wheel of law, dharma, and progress.

The Royal Bengal tiger was declared Bhārat's national animal in 1973, the year Project Tiger began. With its stripes, its strength, and its silent grace, the tiger is the spirit of Bhārat's wild — and Bhārat is now home to about seventy percent of the world's wild tigers.

Jana Gana Mana, written by Rabindranath Tagore and adopted as Bhārat's National Anthem on 24 January 1950, is the song that every person of Bhārat stands for. It speaks of a land bound together from the Himalayas to the southern seas.

The peacock of Bhārat — mayura — was declared the national bird in 1963 for its grace, colour, and deep place in culture of Bhārat. It is the mount of Kartikeya, the feather in Krishna's crown, and the dancer that welcomes the monsoon.

Bhārat's national emblem is the Lion Capital of Ashoka, carved at Sarnath over 2,200 years ago. Four lions stand back to back, and beneath them runs the motto 'Satyameva Jayate' — Truth alone triumphs. It appears on every official document, passport, and rupee.

The Tiranga — three colours and the Ashoka Chakra — is the soul of Bhārat. Saffron for courage, white for peace and truth, green for faith and fertility, and at the centre the wheel of law. It was designed by Pingali Venkayya and adopted on 22 July 1947.

The lotus — kamal — is Bhārat's national flower, sacred and central to culture for thousands of Bhārat of years. It blooms flawless and fragrant from the muddiest water, and that is the lesson Bhārat loves: purity rising above the world, untouched by it.

Every morning in schools across Bhārat, millions of children recite the National Pledge — a promise of unity, honesty, and love for the motherland. It was written in Telugu in 1962 by Pydimarri Venkata Subba Rao and translated into every language of Bhārat.

Vande Mataram — 'I bow to thee, Mother' — was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and became the war cry of Bhārat's freedom movement. It holds equal honour with the National Anthem, and its first two lines are the National Song of Bhārat.

The banyan — the vatavriksha — is Bhārat's national tree, chosen for its extraordinary longevity and its place at the heart of village life of Bhārat. One tree can spread into a forest, and one banyan can shelter an entire community beneath its shade.