OCTOBER 11. 2024 — Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar of Karnataka, India, announced on Friday that the Kannada flag must be hoisted at all educational institutions, businesses, and factories in Bengaluru on November 1, in celebration of Karnataka Rajyotsava, the state’s formation day, the Press Trust of India reports. This year marks 50 years since the state was renamed from Mysore to Karnataka.
The unofficial yellow and red Kannada flag, designed by Veera Senani Ma Ramamurthy in the 1960s, is a symbol in the Karnataka state for more autonomy from the Indian government. According to the BBC, in 2017, the Karnataka government had previously established a panel to examine whether the state could adopt its own official flag. Then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has questioned the constitutional basis for preventing Karnataka from having its own flag, arguing that there is no provision in the constitution prohibiting it. This move marked a departure from the Hindu nationalist stance of the Indian government – a Home Ministry spokesperson emphasized the principle of “one nation, one flag.”
While Shivakumar emphasized the importance of the day for Kannadigas, he also warned pro-Kannada groups against taking the law into their own hands, referring to earlier unrest in January when violent pro-Kannada protests erupted in the region, reported The Indian Express.
Image: By Ravinder M A, CC BY 2.0