National Flag Initiative
As President of the Student Government at the University of Texas at Dallas, Jindal displayed the Indian flag whenever possible, inspired by the American tradition that sees a show of the US flag as a mark of patriotism. He continued to do so when he returned to India, flying the flag at his factory premises in Raigarh in present-day Chhattisgarh. However, the Commissioner of Bilaspur objected to this practice, citing the Flag Code of India which at the time permitted private citizens to fly the Indian Tricolour only on Independence Day and Republic Day. Jindal filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court in February 1995 contesting the restraints being placed on him by officials, and later disputed the government position in the Supreme Court too. On January 15, 2002, the Union Cabinet accepted the report of the Dr P.D. Shenoy Committee that it had constituted to look into the matter, and announced that citizens will be free to fly the national flag on all days of the year from January 26, 2002. The Government subsequently issued a new flag code (Flag Code of India 2002) which contained guidelines for flying the national flag. On January 23, 2004, the Supreme Court of India ruled in Jindal’s favour.
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2005. It was passed unanimously, granting citizens the right to display the national flag on clothes and caps in a duly prescribed manner.
The concept of “monumental flags” has been introduced in India. These gigantic flags are now flown at several locations across India. Following a subsequent campaign, on December 22, 2009, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs permitted monumental flags to be flown at night with appropriate illumination, contrary to the requirement at the time that all flags should be lowered after dusk.
On February 18, 2010, the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha accepted his proposal to allow MPs to display the national flag as a lapel pin while seated in the House.
On August 9, 2010, the High Court in Bilaspur, observed that not lowering the flag at night is not a violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. The judgment opened the door for the common person to fly the Tiranga at night.
Jindal established the Flag Foundation of India with his wife Shallu to instill pride in the Tiranga among citizens through the arts, seminars and workshops aimed particularly at children and the youth.
Read more about this topic: Naveen Jindal
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