Leave national flag out of politics

We are living in highly politicised times when every facet of life tends to get infected with politics. Much of the politics is of the wrong kind. This is clear from the controversy that has arisen about the national flag in the run-up to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Independence. Symbols like the national emblem and the national flag are intimately linked with the idea of nationhood and the citizens’ dedication to it. Yet they are dragged into political controversies. The debate over the depiction of the lions in the national emblem atop the new parliament building is an example. Many people, including experts, are of the view that the visage of the lions is more animated and aggressive than the visage of the Ashokan lions in the original emblem. This has been denied, but the denial has not satisfied many. The view is that the new lions have been made to look so to represent the aggressive nationalism claimed by the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a Har Ghar Tiranga campaign as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He has urged people to change the display pictures of their social media accounts to the Tricolour and called for displaying the flag for three days before August 15. The flag code has been liberalised for the purpose. Many people, including Opposition leaders, have incorporated the flag in their social media profiles. Flags are being manufactured in large quantities to meet the demand. But the campaign has been infected with some smart politics, aimed at taking credit for promoting the national sentiment. The Opposition would not be in a position to refuse it for fear of being dubbed anti-national. So, there is an unfair persuasion in the campaign. There are also complaints that money was cut involuntarily from the salaries of government and PSU employees in the name of Har Ghar Tiranga. This is unfortunate, because using or sporting the national flag should be an act of volition in a free country. No-one should be forced to prove their patriotism by sporting the flag or by other symbolic acts. There should be certain areas and matters of life that should be kept outside of bad politics.

Concerns have also been raised about the environmental impact of the large-scale use of flags made of polyester. When the flags are used in large numbers and then discarded, they will not get the respect that they should get. It is pointed out that the RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent, has not yet implemented the Prime Minister’s call. The politics of it needs to be explained, too, especially because the RSS had for long avoided flying the national flag.