Jammu and Kashmir is the only state permitted to fly its flag along with the national flag. The state flag has its origin in events that took place on July 13, 1931, in Srinagar. On the day, 22 Kashmiri protesters were gunned down by the army of the autocratic Dogra ruler after the people rose against the Maharaja’s rule. It is believed that a blood-tainted shirt of one of the victims was then hoisted by the crowd as the new flag of Kashmir.
On July 11, 1939, the flag was adopted by the National Conference (NC), which is in the Opposition now. Then on June 7, 1952, a resolution was passed by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, making it the official flag of the state.
Through the 1952 Delhi Agreement, NC founder the late Sheikh Abdullah got the central government to accept the state’s constitution and flag. The constitution of Jammu and Kashmir makes it mandatory to hoist the state flag alongside the national flag at all times.
The state has a separate constitution which works under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In 2015, a controversy erupted after the BJP ministers in the state refused to hoist the state flag in their offices after the government issued a notice saying both flags must be used. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said that no flag could be hoisted at an equal level of the national flag of India.
On December 18, 2015, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court said the state’s flag must be used on government property along with the tricolour.
Published 18 July 2017, 15:24 IST