India has only been a free democracy since 1947. After World War II Britain did not have the energy to deal with a very restive Indian freedom movement. India had been more than ready to become a non-colonial, free democracy since before the First World War!
Like all new republics India needed a flag. On July 22, 1947 the young Indian legislature adopted the above design as their flag. The three colors are dark saffron, white and green. The dark saffron signifies courage and sacrifice; the white signifies truth and peace: and the green signifies faith and chivalry. The round blue object on the white stripe is an ancient symbol copied from the Lion Capital of Asoka in Sarnath. This symbol stands for the dynamism of peaceful change, Dharma. Sarnath was a city in ancient India during the reign of King Asoka in the third century BC. Asoka's 40 foot sandstone column still survives after 2300 years. To put Asoka in the context of known Western events, while Alexander the Great was moving east to conquer the entire world, he ran up against stiff resistance in India in 326 BC and his army said enough. Alexander's army headed back west, left a power vacuum, and the Mauryan dynasty filled the vacuum in 324 BC and flourished in India. The third King in the Mauryan dynasty was Asoka who is considered one of the most enlightened rulers of all history. The modern country of India adopted Asoka's Dharma wheel for their flag.
