Karnataka Celebrates State Day Amid Calls for Official State Flag

NOVEMBER 1, 2024 — As Karnataka celebrates Karnataka Rajyotsava today, the state’s foundation day, the government has required the unofficial Kannada red-and-yellow flag to be hoisted today, bringing ongoing debates over its official recognition into focus.

Responding to confusion about the flag code, which did not exist since the flag was never enshrined in law, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) clarified the protocol for the flag, specifying it must display yellow on top, red on the bottom, be hoisted under the Indian flag, and be made from Khadi or hand-woven, The Hindustan Times reported. KDA chairperson Purushotama Bilimale advised residents to lower and properly store the flag by day’s end.

Meanwhile, social activists and advocates, including Bhimappa Gadad, are pressing for official state flag recognition, according to the Deccan Herald. Gadad, who previously filed a public interest litigation in support of the flag, expressed frustration that the court dismissed the case, citing it as outside public interest jurisdiction. “If the government doesn’t decide, our next step is to take it to the streets,” Gadad stated, urging an official decision on November 1.

Prof. SG Siddaramaiah, former KDA chairperson, recalled his 2018 recommendation of a yellow-white-red tricolor for Karnataka, which was ultimately unused. He suggested that a state flag can coexist with national pride, pointing to examples like the U.S. “Sub-nationalism will never supersede nationalism; it will only strengthen us as Indians,” he told News18, urging Kannada organizations to consider adopting the 2018 tricolor to sidestep legal hurdles associated with the current red-and-yellow flag, originally linked to the pro-Kannada party Kannada Paksha.

Image: Deccan Herald

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