155. Why can’t states have their flags and national flag as well in India? P S Remesh Chandran

155

Why can’t states have their flags and national flag as well in India?
 
P. S. Remesh Chandran
 
Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum
  Article Title Image 1 By Quince Media. Graphics: Adobe SP.

1

So many countries in the world have state flags and national flags. State flags and national flags are all government flags. It is better to call them civil flags and national flags. Civil flags can be modified versions of the national flag, or an entirely different one reflecting the purpose and principles of the sub-national division or agency concerned. Civil flags will have restrictions on use as imposed by the law or custom of the country.

In India, a state flag means an official flag of any of the individual states or territorial sub-divisions that make up the nation. It is preferable to call them ‘the State Flag of Kerala, the State Flag of Nagaland, etc., etc., to avoid confusion with the term the National Flag of India. It’s because a state can mean a sub-national division or the entire nation, in general terms. And the army, navy and the air force in India also have theirs. 

Article Title Image 2 By Achannya Lekshmi. Graphics: Adobe SP.

2

The people of India don’t understand why states can’t have their own flags. This confusion was caused by acrimonious slogans, posters, interviews and media reports thrown in by pseudo patriots who actually want to create confusion and murk in the muddy waters. India is a country of heterogeneous people with their own states, cultures and languages which they may want to identify through flags, symbols or emblems. They will want to identify themselves as a people with specific cultures, customs or languages. And at the same time they will want to identify themselves as citizens of a united country also. So they have their state flags as well as a national flag. There was no question of not allowing them to do so until now. And till now, no communal nationalists were ruling India too. That is the change which started this move to take away the state flags. There is scope for arousing suspicion, sensationalism and hatred among these people by taking away their state flags which would serve as excellent food for the survival of religious nationalist elements.

3

State flags do not affect the unity of India anyway. State flags represent their state as a cultural, ethnic or language group and their national flag represents their political and geographical entity as a country. Why should a thing which posed no danger till now made to become so important a topic for serious discussion and legislation? When heterogeneous things are crushed, pulped and tried to be amalgamated into something homogeneous, they loose their properties and become no more those things which they were. Besides, they may even explode in the process. It is when a right thing is tried to be made more right that it goes wrong. We have read that ‘a society with no snobbery is like a dog with no fleas: it goes comatose’. Here it’s like throwing a stone to that dog which has gone comatose to make it do something for a while, meanwhile! Probably, to make it remain active till the next elections! It’s a perfectly characteristic move by the pure Indian snobs! 

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4

There were state flags in India from 1947 to 2019- that means, for 72 years. There was no problem. The problem was BJP came into power in 2019 for the second time. Till then no one talked about state flags posing any dangers to the nations’ unity or security, except those BJP leaders who could not talk about anything else that affects the real life of the people of the country. In 2019, BJP followers and worshipers and beneficiaries began this meaningless chorus and also joined their ranks, to shout that the state flags pose a danger to the unity of the country. What danger? They do not have any reasonable answer, except that they are followers and beneficiaries of the ruling party and so have to repeat just what their leaders say, regardless of if it is logical or not or reasonable or not. Even against their own logic and reason they are burdened with the unglittering job of defending the ruling party in its move to take way the state flags. Look how quick the discussion on the legacy and legality of state flags while holding a national flag, a subject the ruling party does not want people to discuss at all, was tried to be deviated to some CIA presence in India by paid or unpaid campaigners! CIA has been in India for decades since its inception and the present Indian ruling party has all their blessings. They were the first to stand with the ruling party of India when they took away the first state flag. Then, who would be the biggest CIA spy now in India? Do not try to foolishly and idiotically reiterate to learnèd and responsive group members that state flags are going to divide India. Did India get divided during the past 72 years due to state flags? 

Article Title Image 4 By Don Vikro. Graphics: Adobe SP.

5

How many flags does the USA have? The USA has 50 states and 50 state flags- the earliest one from 1795, and one national flag from 1777 with variations! In addition, the several branches of the United States Armed Forces have their individual flags, and within each branch various flags for various occasions. And there are the ships, army bases, military camps and military academies which also have their own flags. Why this many flags? Its legacy, kept alive and proud by a proud people. Did the USA split on account of this ocean of flags during the 242 years of its existence, and its federal democracy collapse? Only utter fools will think the people of America are holding 51 flags at the same time! Any American civilian holds only two flags on any given occasion- that of his state and that of his nation. The case is exactly similar in India. Any Indian civilian holds only two flags, not a sea of flags, if there is a state flag. Here the only difference is there is neither a 242 years’ steady and steadfast democracy nor 50 states in the federal system. Which fool is going to guarantee that India’s democracy is going to hold steady and steadfast for 242 years with only half the states? Even before its 77 years with half the states, India’s federal democracy is withering. Taking state flags away is the sign. Whether it’s going to be a Mercantile Hindu Corporate Autocracy or a Religious Theocracy is another question. Or it may even be a Corporatotheocracy.

6

Autonomy for states in almost all portfolios of administration with state budgets, state laws and state rules but joined at the Centre for Defense is the very essential to the federal system of government. 1947 was the 0-mile stone for India in federalism, and since then the centre has been robbing states of its portfolios of administration, its rights and its privileges one by one for the past 77 years, weakening the federal strength of the nation. Everything that is born has an inherent tendency to also die from that moment onwards, unless helped keep strong and healthy. Unfortunately, that is not the state with federalism in India. States are robbed steadily of authority and power which accumulate at the centre, the very reverse process of what the constitution of India envisaged. An all-powerful state with unlimited and unquestioned powers eventually becomes an enemy of the state in itself in its true sense as the world’s history proves.

 Article Title Image 5 By Liam Desic. Graphics: Adobe SP.
 
More English articles by the author at: 
http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
 
Malayalam articles by the author at:  
http://sahyadrimalayalam.blogspot.in/
 
More political article by the author here:
http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/p/list-of-political-articles.html
 
About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

 
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Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.
 
Tags:

State National Government Flags, Civil Flags, Indian Flag, Sub National Agencies Divisions, Territorial Sub Divisions, Mercantile Hinduism, India News, Federalism, Culture Symbols Emblems, BJP, // Cultural Ethnic Language Groups, Politico Geographical Entity, Heterogeneous People, Communal Nationalists, Religious Nationalists, National Unity Security, Corporate Autocracy, Religious Theocracy, Corporato Theocracy, Constitution Of India,

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