LAHORE The Punjab Police advertisement carrying the logo of Indian Punjab Police published in all the leading national daily newspapers on Friday (March 19) has bitterly resented the nation, as the logo contained a symbol of the Hindu trinity (swastika or trimurti). Authentic sources in the Police Department revealed that the fatal gaffe was committed by the Directorate General Public Relation (DGPR), which referred the advertisement to an advertising agency for giving it final shape for publishing in newspapers. As per details, the Punjab Police sent an advertisement captioned 'Appeal to the DGPR with a request: Kindly find enclosed an advertisement, which may please be published in the following newspapers including Nawa-i-Waqt, The Nation and other dailies. Police sources said that Personal Staff Officer to the Inspector General of Police Punjab (IGP) moved the appeal without getting it signed by the IGP. It was a written content. Even the Police Department did not force the DGPR to include the police logo, the sources further said. Endorsing the Punjab Police statement, the DGPR sources said that Director Coordination Syed Ali Tahir had sought explanation from the ad agency by writing it a letter on Friday. The monogram used in the said advertisement is reportedly of Indian Police. Please explain immediately the reason for this grave error for further necessary action, the letter states. Insiders said that 'swastika widely used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism had been derived from the Sanskrit word 'svastika meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back from the Neolithic period, they further said. Swastika is further attributed to an Indian philosophical thought that Hitler wanted to associate with Germany since he idealised the Aryan ideology. It is worth mentioning that Aryan culture has been in India for over 5000 years, with origins yet unknown and unproven. Archeology student Tayyaba Yasmeen said that the logo published in newspapers bore great alikeness with Ashoka Chakra, the symbol attributed to a Mauryan samrat (meaning warrior), Chakravartin Chand Ashoka commonly known as Ashoka, who administered Mauryan Dynasty and ruled almost the entire Indian Subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC. Swastika was adopted by Ashoka at that time. The ancient monument, sandstone sculpture Lion Capital of Ashoka or four Indian lions standing back to back was adopted as the national symbol of India and the wheel Ashoka Chakra from its base was placed onto the centre of the Indian national flag on 22 July 1947. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became Indias first Vice-President, also described the significance of Ashoka Chakra and strictly favoured it to be adopted as the symbol of the national flag. It is worth mentioning that India, the country which has waged economic and water war against Pakistan, has never accepted sovereign nuclear Pakistan since 1947. Inspector General of Police Punjab Tariq Saleem Dogar maintained that the Department sent the advertisement item without logo but it was included at the DGPR office. DGPR Director General Rauf Hassan, however, admitted that To err is human. It was an inadvertent mistake. I am not blaming our police, but it should be considered as an error, he added.