A smouldering Manipur celebrated Independence Day. As videos and images filtered in, the nation was shocked to see visuals of Kukis armed to the teeth taking part in the Independence day parades. In one video from Churachandpur (which was the epicenter of violence against the Meiteis) so called ‘Village Defence Forces’ dressed in battlewear and armed with sophisticated assault weapons are seen marching in what the officials termed an ‘unofficial’ I-Day parade. (Recent reports show that the officials have launched an enquiry into it, while the Kuki groups have claimed that the weapons were in fact replicas made of wood and plastic.)
The roots of these ‘village defence forces’ and how they came in possession of these ‘weapons’ is certainly something the security forces, intelligence and the administration should be interested in. However another issue from this I-Day parade has flown under the radar. That of the National Flag being dipped in honour of the dignitaries. Visuals from the I-Day parade in show the village defence force contingents dipping the National Flag as they pass by the dignitaries. Whether they did this out of ignorance or malice is for the administration to find out.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, and the subsequent 2021 amendment has considerably relaxed norms when it comes to civilians. However, the Flag Code specifies certain rules that every citizen is expected to follow. Among them, is rule 3.15 – The Flag shall not be dipped in salute to any person or thing. It is the duty of every citizen to know the rules pertaining to our National symbols and abide by them. And it is duty of the administration to ensure that the citizens are properly educated in this regard. In case the citizens are maliciously uncompliant, then it is also the duty of the administration to mete out suitable punishment.
This issue was first brought to national attention by the Imphal Free Press. HJS commends the IFP editorial team for raising this issue. You can read their editorial here.
The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has been running the Respect National Flag campaign for the last 2 decades. This campaign has been successful in having the production and sale of plastic flags banned, while also making the common man aware of the flag code and our duties.
