Why international magazines like ‘The Economist’ must respect sanctity of Indian national flag

There are so many images on social media that are designed to provoke that it is possible to misjudge what is rightly liable to cause outrage. Scrolling through WhatsApp messages last week, I chanced upon an article in “The Economist” magazine, specifically the image accompanying the article, which provided a rude awakening. There in plain sight was a disfiguration of the sacred flag dear to 140 crore Bharatvasis: while the saffron, white and green were depicted in accurate colours, the Ashoka Chakra at the centre of the flag had been replaced by the Jewish Star of David that is found in the Israeli flag. The title of the  article, “Narendra Modi has shifted India from the Palestinians to Israel", seemed to suggest that the disfiguration was intended to convey Bharat’s sympathies with Israel in its war with the Gaza-based terrorist outfit Hamas. But that cannot hide what the image clearly is: a violation of the ‘Flag Code of India’ and a criminal offence under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

What is least surprising about the image was that it was put up by a so-called magazine of international repute like The Economist. In fact, the disfiguration is only the latest and most outrageous example of the contempt and denigration that media houses controlled by Western institutions have reserved for Bharat in the past decade. The casual indifference with which the great symbol of our country’s ancient heritage was replaced with an Abrahamic symbol leads one to wonder whether the editors of this organisation would ever have shown such disrespect or negligence in representing the Chinese or American flag. It is also worth mentioning that while free speech standards in the West may permit such flippant representations of national symbols, the national flag is considered sacred by us and is given strong protection under our law. Last year, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Independence, I was invited by News18 to an event held to discuss the history and significance of the national flag. When one of the girl students in the audience attempted to voice the sheer emotion she felt at seeing the three holy bands, every person in the theatre understood perfectly and immediately what she was trying to articulate. That feeling, which is ever present in our lives, can never abide such a monstrous distortion, no matter how reputed or prestigious the organisation behind it may be. The author is an ex-DGP of Jharkhand. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.