STATE FLAG: KARNATAKA WANTS WHAT KASHMIR HAS, BUT IS IT LEGAL?
The historical backdrop of the flag, likewise said in the past by a BJP chief minister, is established in between district competition and has an expect to concrete Kannada identity.
Indeed, even as the BJP-drove NDA government at the Center serenades the one-country mantra, the Congress-drove government in Karnataka has constituted a nine member council to outline a “state” hail — an identity symbol unique to the state — and submit a report on giving it legal sanctity.
The state has had an informal ‘Kannada flag’ since the 1960s – the red-and-yellow banner is famous with the nearby individuals and numerous Kannada activists additionally wear it as a scarf. [The individuals and furthermore the official dialect of Karnataka is called Kannada.]
It is not utilized amid national services like Republic Day or Independence Day, yet individuals raise it over the state on 1 November consistently to check the day the state was shaped. For quite a long time, there has been a request to remember it as the state’s legitimate banner.
A month ago, the Congress party-drove state government constituted a nine-member board, including bureaucrats and academics, to advice on the legality of the issue and also suggest a design for the state flag. In the interim, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah protected the interest for a separate flag for the state, inquiring as to whether there is any arrangement in the Constitution that forbids the state from having its own particular banner.
“Is there any provision in the Constitution which is prohibiting a state to have its own flag? Did BJP people come across any provision,”Siddaramaiah said. Jammu and Kashmir is the only state to have its own flag as it appreciates an exceptional status under Article 370 of the Constitution.
“This being the constitutional position, there is no prohibition in the Constitution for the State to have its own flag. However, the manner in which the state flag is hoisted should not dishonour the national flag. It has to be always below the national flag,” the Supreme Court had said.
The arguments
Those in favour of state flags argue that they are not secessionist but rather mirror India’s assorted qualities and government structure. They say that different state flags would give individuals a sense of identity and cultural belonging.
In addition, they argue that considering all states have their own insignia and many states also have their own anthems, would having a state flag make a big difference?
Individuals against state flag say that the tricolor ties India together and any move to enable states to have banners would lessen the remaining of the national banner. They feel that enabling one state to have its own particular banner could trigger requests from others states as well. They additionally say that state banners can move toward becoming images of separatism and undermine India’s unity and integrity.
“The chief minister Siddaramaiah is trying to appeal to these areas on the basis of a politics of patronage. But people in these border districts have always felt that they have lost out because of the prominence given to the Old Mysore area,” Raghavendra said.
How does the world manage this issue?
Most nations around the globe that take after a government framework allow regional flags.
Dr Sandeep Shastri, political examiner and Pro-Vice Chancellor at Bangalore’s Jain University, says countries like the Unites States, Germany, Australia and Myanmar (Burma) allow different regions to have a different regional flag to show their distinct identity.
“Importance to a regional flag does not mean rejection of the national flag. This is an issue of local identity. Unfortunately, the debate is not taking into account the diversity of our country, but is only focussed on unity. “In a country like India, diversity is unity. Unity cannot have a strong base without diversity,” Dr Shastri said.
