Opposition slams change in Flag Code prior to 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign

The Flag Code of India 2002 stated that the National flag shall be made of hand spun and hand woven wool/cotton/silk or Khadi. The recent amendment permitted the use of polyester fabric in the making of the national flag.

New Delhi:The recent amendment made in the National Flag Code permitting use of machine made polyester flags has drawn criticism from opposition parties raising questions over the intention of the central government behind the decision. The Flag Code of India 2002 stated that the National flag shall be made of hand spun and hand woven wool/cotton/silk or Khadi. The recent amendment permitted the use of polyester fabric in the making of the national flag.

Section 1.2 of the Flag Code amended by Order no. 02/01/2020-public (Part-3) reads: “National Flag shall be made of hand spun and hand woven or machine made, cotton/polyester/wool silk Khadi bunting”. CPIM Rajya Sabha MP Dr V Sivadasan recently wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah raising concerns over permitting machine made polyester flags that can bring adverse impact on ecology and local economy.

"Since mass-produced polyester machine made flags are cheaper than the cotton hand-woven flags, they will overtake the market. Cotton and silk flags are eco friendly and when they are hand spun they add strength to the local economy. But the permission given to flags made of machine-made polyester will result in our country being inundated with machine-made non-biodegradable flags from abroad. This move is neither eco friendly nor favourable to the cause of cottage industries,” wrote Sivadasan in his letter to the Home Minister.

The MP further requested the intervention of the Home Minister to revoke the amendment to Flag Code 2002 saying the move would prove harmful for the environment as well as the cottage industries in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently gave a call for ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign to celebrate 75th anniversary of Independence of India.

As the demand for National Flags is set to rise after PM Modi’s appeal, activists as well as opposition leaders are saying that the amendment made to the Flag Code will be a threat to indigenous industry and imported flags will replace the locally manufactured ones. In order to fulfill the rising demand, the government has reportedly partnered with a number of self-help organisations and e-commerce platforms to speed up the process of making flags available to every person but the opposition has raised concern that imported products might take over the demand.