Bengaluru: The proposed state flag for Karnataka has once again become an issue, with the BJP government abandoning it owing to its belief in the concept of ‘one nation, one flag’, and the Congress accusing it of bowing to ‘Hindi hegemony’, ignoring the state’s distinct culture.
The concept of a state flag or ‘Nada Dhwaja’ has existed for decades in Karnataka, but a few months before the 2018 assembly polls, the Siddaramaiah-headed Congress government had approved a new design and sent a proposal to the central government.
Karnataka’s new minister for Kannada and culture, C.T. Ravi, told ThePrint that state flags were unconstitutional, and that while the BJP was proud of Kannada culture, Siddaramaiah’s proposal was nothing but “election strategy”.
“Ambedkar, in the Constitution, has mentioned about one nation, one flag. The Congress accepted it then; it should have sought a separate flag for every state at that time itself,” Ravi said.
“Are they against Ambedkar? Are they against the Constitution? If they have the guts, let them say they are against Ambedkar. Let them say they are against what the Congress did then. Let them accept that the Congress made a huge mistake then.
Asked about the Centre’s lack of response to the proposal, Karnataka BJP spokesperson Vaman Acharya said it was not worthy of a decision. “Keeping quiet is almost rejecting it,” he said.
BJP’s stand on state flags
Clarifying the BJP’s stand on state flags, Acharya said: “A flag is a symbol of national spirit and it should not be diluted by a state flag, district flag, taluka flag — then each town will want its own flag. India will become how it was before 1948: There will be 350 or even more flags in the Indian union. It is important to propagate one nation, one flag.”
Less than a month ago, the Narendra Modi government’s move to abrogate the special status of Jammu and Kashmir also took away the provision for a state flag.
Acharya said according to the BJP, the Kashmir issue was “ek desh, do vidhan, do pradhan, do nishan” (one country, two legislations, two leaders, two flags), which could not continue. He said a separate Karnataka flag would kindle a similar-state union divide, which is totally unconstitutional.
Congress outraged
The Congress, however, is up in arms, saying Ravi and the BJP government have bowed to the “Hindi-dominated” BJP and its policy of “one nation, one culture”. The party said this is part of the BJP central leadership’s “veiled design” to meddle with the affairs of Karnataka.
The Congress claimed all parties in Karnataka had agreed to the Nada Dhwaja, which represents Karnataka’s culture.
State Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao pointed out that Karnataka already had a state flag and that several organisations were already using it, before Siddaramaiah’s government gave it official status.
“The Congress government just gave it an official status and a particular design was finalised. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that a state cannot have its own flag. This has nothing to do with divisive culture, but reflects plain pride in our state, culture, language and tradition,” he said.
“When you have different languages recognised as official languages, when states have been formed based on linguistic basis, no one can claim sub-nationalism.”
‘Belittling Kannada culture’
Former Kannada Development Authority chairman S.G. Siddaramaiah, who was part of the committee that designed the state flag proposed by the Congress government, slammed the BJP, calling it a party that is “against India’s diversity and multi-culturalism”, and is eroding the country’s pluralistic identity. He also challenged it to do away with ‘Nada Geethe’, the state anthem, next.
“It is clear with this decision that they are not proud of our land (Karnataka). They have belittled our 3,000-year-old language and culture,” Siddaramaiah said.
Also read: Exclusive: Constitution does not prohibit state from having a flag — Siddaramaiah
In 2009, then Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa quashed a circular that enforced restrictions on hoisting the Kannada flag on government buildings. Later, in 2012, Chief Minister SV Sadananda Gowda made it mandatory for government offices, schools and colleges to hoist the Kannada flag on November 1, which is celebrated as the formation day of the state. But the notification was withdrawn later that year after a legal battle. BJP’s always plays double standard.