After 17 yrs, Tricolour unfurled at Srinagar's Clock Tower
Samaan Lateef
Srinagar, January 27
After 17 years, the Tricolour was hoisted atop the historic Clock Tower in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Wednesday. However, the celebrations ended in a controversy after the administration removed the flag hours before the sunset, attracting ire from former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Several political and social activists led by Sajid Yousuf Shah, Sahil Bashir Bhat and Shaheena Akhter organised the flag-hoisting ceremony at Clock Tower to mark Republic Day. “It was our dream to hoist the national flag on the Clock Tower. This is ‘naya’ Kashmir. History has been made,” said Bhat.
Unfurled first time in 1992
- The Tricolour was hoisted at Lal Chowk for the first time in 1992 by veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi during the peak of militancy.
- On August 15, 2005, the BSF hoisted the national flag on top of the historic Clock Tower.
The activists used a hydraulic crane elevator to install the national flag on top of the tower amid rendition of the national anthem.
Hours after the national flag was hoisted, Omar took a dig at the authorities for ‘insulting’ the Tricolour. He also accused the authorities of unfurling the flag just for the photo ops. “Is this what patriotism and nationalism have come to?” Omar said.
“If you don’t know the Indian Flag Code, then here is a bit of help – As far as possible, display from sunrise to sunset, which means it can be flown 24×7, 365 days a year as long as other provisions of the flag code are followed,” he said.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, says when the national flag is displayed in the open, it should, as far as possible, be flown from sunrise to sunset, irrespective of the weather conditions.
