How Tamil Nadu’s M Karunanidhi championed rights of CMs to hoist Tricolour on I-Day

India is celebrating its 78th Independence Day this year. On August 15, 1947, the South Asian country gained freedom from the British colonial rule. Every year, the day is marked by the hoisting of the tricolour and remembering the sacrifices of our freedom fighters who won independence for India.

While the Prime Minister hoists the national flag at the Red Fort, chief ministers do the same in their respective states. However, did you know the CMs got the right to hoist the national flag on I-Day only in 1974 due to the late Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) veteran M Karunanidhi?

Let’s turn the pages of history to know more.

Karunanidhi’s battle for state autonomy

Karunanidhi, whose first tenure as Tamil Nadu chief minister was between 1969 and 1971, coined the Maanilathil Suyatchi, Mathiyil Kootatchi (Autonomy for States, Federalism at the Centre) slogan in 1970 in Trichy.

The Rajamannar Commission, set up by the DMK government in 1969, submitted its report to Karunanidhi on the Centre-state relations in May 1971, as per The South First report.

Addressing a book launch event on state autonomy in Chennai in February 1974, Karunanidhi asked why the chief ministers were “ignored” during the unfurling of the flag when the prime minister could hoist the flag on Independence Day, reported The Hindu.

Karunanidhi’s letter to Indira Gandhi

Karunanidhi shot off a letter to the then PM Indira Gandhi pointing out different practices in Delhi and other states. The DMK leader said that the President unfurled the tricolour on Republic Day and the prime minister on Independence Day.

According to The Hindu report, Governors, generally considered representatives of the Central government, unfurled the national flag on Republic Day and Independence Day until 1973.

However, this changed in 1974 when Karunanidhi took up the matter with Gandhi. The Central government agreed to his demand in July of that year.

Recalling the incident, Karunanidhi wrote in his autobiographical work, Nenjukku Needhi: “Every year, on August 15, it was a practice that the Governor will hoist the national flag at the State Secretariat. It was due to my repeated efforts in writing letters to Delhi (Union government) and repeatedly raising the issue in person as to why democratically elected Chief Ministers should not be given this right, it was decided that Governors will unfurl the national flag on Republic Day alone and Chief Ministers will hoist the national flag on Independence Day”.

The Hindu report titled CMs to unfurl tricolour published on July 31, 1974 mentioned, “The Government of India has accepted the suggestion of the Tamil Nadu Government [headed by Karunanidhi] that Chief Ministers should be permitted to unfurl the national flag on August 15 in the State capitals”.

It added, “He (Karunanidhi) said this was in response to a complaint he made at a function in Madras in February that while the President unfurled the national flag in Delhi on the Republic Day and the Prime Minister on the Independence Day, the Chief Ministers did not enjoy even this privilege….”

On August 15, 1974, Karunanidhi became the first Tamil Nadu CM to unfurl the national flag at the historic Fort St. George in Chennai.

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Why it was significant for Karunanidhi?

In the early 1970s, Karunanidhi wanted a separate flag for Tamil Nadu, which had the national flag in one-quarter, while the main space consisted state emblem and a temple tower, as per The South First report.

According to N Arumuga Nainar, a senior DMK functionary, Thalaivar (Karunanidhi) was asked to encompass Mooventhar (Chera, Chola, and Pandiyas) symbols in the proposed flag. “But Kalaignar was particular about incorporating the Indian flag,” he told The South First.

“Kalaingar was so keen on the state’s autonomy and wanted to give a befitting reply to allegations of ‘separatism’ against the DMK. He always respected the national flag. If chief ministers are hoisting the tricolour on Independence Day, it is the result of the Dravidian stalwart Karunanidhi’s efforts,” Nainar added.

Karunanidhi championing the rights for chief ministers to hoist the national flag on I-Day was a far cry from his once secessionist political struggle to establish ‘Dravida Nadu’.

With inputs from agencies