Daily Times

A flag symbolises identity. A flag symbolises power and jurisdiction. A flag symbolises the collective aspirations of a people. And in any normal human assemblage, identities are multiple, power and jurisdiction are often layered and divided. The collective aspirations of a people also distributed along these multiple identities. These multiple identities are not about part and whole, but are about different aspects of one’s identity, of various forms of belonging.

This is especially true in an essentially multi-national federal polity like the Indian Union, whose linguistic states and the identities contained therein predate the formation of the Union. Thus, one is at the same time a Kannadiga and a citizen of the Indian Union. The promise of the republic inaugurated on January 26, 1950 was precisely to create conditions that would prevent these identities from coming in conflict with each other. However, when homogenising forces try to flatten the diverse peoples of the Indian Union, people who are not rootless do not simply succumb to the steam-roller and they hold aloft their banner of resistance. This can take many forms. One of them is a flag. What Kannadigas always knew has now been declared to all other citizens of the Indian Union. Karnataka has its own flag.

The centralising, homogenising tendencies that are being propagated by Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan ideological forces are the biggest threat to the unity and integrity of the Indian Union. The result of Urdu-Muslim-Pakistan ideology being imposed on East Bengal is there for all to see

On March 8, the State government of Karnataka, officially approved the Karnataka State flag. Karnataka premier Siddaramaiah himself unveiled it, with the Chairperson of the Kannada Development Authority flanking him. The design was arrived at after extensive discussion with stake-holders, including Kannada organisations and the state’s renowned intellectuals.

A few months ago, the government correctly sought public input for such an important matter as the flag of a state belongs to the people and not the government of the day. There are a few discordant voices that have taken exception to the design of the flag and insisted that the widely used Yellow-Red flag was good enough. The present flag is a close variant of that flag itself, with yellow on top, red in bottom with the addition of a white band in the middle which has the official Karnataka State symbol in it, including the lion crest of Ashoka.

Premier Siddaramaiah what the newly unveiled design symbolises — ‘Yellow represents wealth and celebration, white represents peace and stability, red represents valour and pride.’ Originally, the yellow and red also represents Arrishna (turmeric) and Kumkuma (vermilion), thus symbolising auspiciousness and well-being.

To anyone who thinks that the Karnataka state flag or any other state flag represents some threat to the unity and integrity of the Indian Union, I would invite them to remember the motto ‘Unity in Diversity’ in letter and spirit. The Constitution of India does not prohibit state flags. It is not illegal.

It only prohibits secession. Something cannot be both legal and illegal at the same time. In fact, centralising, homogenising tendencies that are being propagated by Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan ideological forces are the biggest threat to the unity and integrity of the Indian Union. The result of Urdu-Muslim-Pakistan ideology being imposed on East Bengal is there for all to see. Thus one has to learn from the world’s stable federations.

All states of the Indian Union should have their own flag if they wish to. I congratulate the people of Karnataka on their official State flag. I wish my state West Bengal had its own flag too. I have a feeling that Karnataka won’t be the last state to have it.

Some examples are the United States of America, Japan, Canada, Australia, France, Hungary, Italy, Indonesia, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE and many others. In South Asia, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka’s provinces have their own official flag. If anything, as far as unions made of sub-units go, the absence of official flags for every state of the Indian Union is actually an exception and not the rule.

The Karnataka State flag is not ‘superior’ to the Indian Union flag. Each flag has its own purpose and scope. Just like the Union government has its own scope and the state government has its own scope. That is called federalism and the federal structure is part of the unchangeable basic structure of the constitution.

The Karnataka loyalty and identity of a Kannadiga living in Mysuru is not superior or inferior to anything. It speaks to a different aspect of a Karnataka native’s identity. Citizenship of the Indian Union and loyalty to the Constitution of India is also part of his duty. They are not in conflict. Those who ask questions such as ‘are you a Kannadiga first or an Indian Union citizen first?’ are trying to create conflict and are the real enemies of unity and integrity and absolute enemies of diversity, equality and dignity.

While Jammu and Kashmir is the only other state with an official State flag, many states have official state anthems — Karnataka (Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate), Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (Maa Telugu Talliki), Telangana (Jaya Jaya Hey Telangana Janani Jayakethanam), Assam (O Mur Apunar Desh), Odisha (Bande Utkala Janani) and Gujarat (Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat). The presence of these state anthems ever decreased the prestige of Indian Union’s anthem?

The flag is no different. All states of the Indian Union should have their own flag if they wish to. I congratulate the people of Karnataka on their official State flag. I wish my state West Bengal had its own flag too. I have a feeling that Karnataka won’t be the last state to have it.

The writer is a brain scientist and commentator based in Bengal

Published in Daily Times, March 14^th 2018.