Kudos for defending our national flag and anthem
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Maswood Alam Khan
We must salute the present government to approve Bangladesh National Anthem, Flag and Emblem (Amendment) Act, 2010, an act that will safeguard our most sacred prides and will educate the people on the etiquettes of our national flag and our national anthem. The provisions of maximum two years' imprisonment or Tk 10,000 in fine or both for disrespecting the national anthem, flag or emblem will undoubtedly deter people from disrespecting our national flag or anthem intentionally or unintentionally. It is unfortunate that we have taken about four decades to realize the necessity of safeguarding our prides like our national flag and anthem, an act that was long overdue. However, we must commend our honourable Prime Minister to execute the sacred onus of showing our due respect to our flag and anthem.
It is true that at times our national flags are not properly used by some quarters. As there was no law to bring persons who defied national flag or anthem to book, the law enforcement agencies could not take stern measurers against those who were found showing no respect for the country's national standard. Most unfortunate fact is we are showing extreme enthusiasm in hoisting flags of different foreign countries, representing football teams participating on the occasion of ongoing FIFA World Cup, but we are forgetful or negligent in hoisting our own flag on different occasions of national importance.
Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed last month said in the parliament that there was no legal basis for hoisting flags of other countries in Bangladesh for supporting the teams in World Cup Football. He, however, told the House that the government had no plan to take action against the youths who hoisted flags of their favourite countries, as this was a 'sensitive' matter. The law minister rightly termed the issue as sensitive, considering the sentimentality of the blind fans. But there should be a 'clear-cut' standard to be followed in hoisting national and foreign flags in future and this writer thinks hoisting foreign flags on our sovereign land does not go with the spirit of our constitution nor does such practice comply with the diplomatic protocols.
There is nothing wrong in waving small hand flags on the roadsides while welcoming a foreign head of state as a show of our respect to a friendly country or within a stadium as a sporting exuberance on the part of fans. But hoisting thousands of foreign flags on the rooftops and balconies of private houses should not be allowed on any future occasion, call it FIFA or Cricket World Cup.
Now that a culture of hoisting a Brazilian or an Argentinean flag during FIFA World Cup seems to have taken roots in our country, the government may find it a little embarrassing to impose an outright ban on the practice. And the government may not find an excuse to debar people from their hoisting on our land a national flag, for example, of a sensitive country like Pakistan or Israel when there are cricket tournaments or Olympic events in the future. If such practice of hoisting foreign flags during games or sports does not contravene diplomatic protocols, the government may issue a public order, of course after taking due permissions from the respective foreign countries, for fans to follow a set rule of flag etiquettes like hoisting both our national flag and the flag of the country representing the favourite players of the fans with our flag always on the top of the foreign flag if hoisted on the same pole or hoisting both the flags on two separate poles of different heights with our flag hoisted always on the taller one.
Bangladesh National Anthem, Flag and Emblem (Amendment) Act, 2010 may also be amended in future with provisions of stricter punishments for any kind of direct or indirect disrespect to our national flag or anthem. In Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, desecration of the national flag is a criminal offence of grievous nature, typically punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.
There should be strict instructions for the manufacturers and tailors of our national flags as to its dimensions, colours etc. There must also be provision in the law to punish anybody who will be found manufacturing, tailoring or using a national flag with defective dimensions or colours. Now that many of us live in apartments, there should be compulsory provisions with a metallic flagpole-holder on the wall in the balconies of individual apartments to hoist a flag in a slanting angle.
The new law should encompass punishment for one who "burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts)" the flag in a public place or in public view. It should also make it an offence to show "disrespect" to the flag through using the flag "as a portion of cosmetics, costume or uniform", on "cushions, handkerchiefs or napkins", as "covering for a statue" or allowing the flag to "touch the ground or water".
Exuberance over "showing the flag" should never win out over taste and decorum. Painting our flag on cheeks and chins should be discouraged as such practices may give a wrong impression about the sanctity and intrinsic value of our flag and in the process, the flag may be deemed by our children as a part of facial cosmetics. The flag should never be used for purposes of advertising; nor should it be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. Flag patches should not be part of an athletic uniform.
It is really ignominious and lamentable when we find hawkers selling our national flags made in weird sizes and colours. Most of the manufacturers of our national flags are completely ignorant about the dimensions and colours of our national flag. The government should undertake programmes through schools and colleges and also through mass media to develop among people, especially among our children, an awareness of how to honour, hoist and preserve our national flags and how to sing our national anthem properly.
We should educate our people that our national flag must be in the bottle green (Procion Brilliant Green H-2RS 50 parts per 1000) and rectangular in the exact proportion of 10:06 with a red (Procion Brilliant Orange H-2RS 60 parts per 1000) circular disc and the red circle will have a radius of one-fifth of the length of the flag. Its center will be placed on the intersecting point of the perpendicular drawn from the nine-twentieth part of the length of the flag, and the horizontal line drawn through the middle of its width. Depending on the site or size of the building the sizes will be 10 × 6 ft or 5 × 3 ft or 2.5 × 1.5 ft. The size of the flag for car has to be 12.5 × 7.5 in and the size of the table flag for bilateral conferences 10 × 6 in.
We also should know that when our national anthem is played and the national flag is displayed, all present in a field or in a community hall, in a cinema hall, in a school or in a stadium, we shall have to face the flag and pay our utmost attention to every word of the anthem in remembrance of our valiant freedom fighters who have awarded us the independence and in determination to fulfill the promises they made and the dreams they dreamt about our Golden Bangladesh.
Our children should know the history and meaning of our national flag and our national anthem; our children should know that the red disc in flag represents the sun rising over the Bay of Bengal and also the blood of those who died for our independence and the green field of the flag stands for the lushness of the land flooded by greeneries of nature. Our children should realize the sublime meaning of each and every word and stanza of the lyric and pay respect to Rabindranath Tagore, the lyricist of our national anthem. Teaching these values to our children is extremely important but unfortunately many Bangladeshis, the aged and the young alike, can sing many songs of foreign languages from A to Z but cannot remember a line beyond the first sentence of our national anthem. We should take a moment with our children and grandchildren to explain to them the importance of our national flag and our national anthem and what makes Bangladesh so unique: its freedom, its democracy, its value and its future.
The writer can be reached
at e-mail:
maswood@hotmail.com
We must salute the present government to approve Bangladesh National Anthem, Flag and Emblem (Amendment) Act, 2010, an act that will safeguard our most sacred prides and will educate the people on the etiquettes of our national flag and our national anthem. The provisions of maximum two years' imprisonment or Tk 10,000 in fine or both for disrespecting the national anthem, flag or emblem will undoubtedly deter people from disrespecting our national flag or anthem intentionally or unintentionally. It is unfortunate that we have taken about four decades to realize the necessity of safeguarding our prides like our national flag and anthem, an act that was long overdue. However, we must commend our honourable Prime Minister to execute the sacred onus of showing our due respect to our flag and anthem.
It is true that at times our national flags are not properly used by some quarters. As there was no law to bring persons who defied national flag or anthem to book, the law enforcement agencies could not take stern measurers against those who were found showing no respect for the country's national standard. Most unfortunate fact is we are showing extreme enthusiasm in hoisting flags of different foreign countries, representing football teams participating on the occasion of ongoing FIFA World Cup, but we are forgetful or negligent in hoisting our own flag on different occasions of national importance.
Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed last month said in the parliament that there was no legal basis for hoisting flags of other countries in Bangladesh for supporting the teams in World Cup Football. He, however, told the House that the government had no plan to take action against the youths who hoisted flags of their favourite countries, as this was a 'sensitive' matter. The law minister rightly termed the issue as sensitive, considering the sentimentality of the blind fans. But there should be a 'clear-cut' standard to be followed in hoisting national and foreign flags in future and this writer thinks hoisting foreign flags on our sovereign land does not go with the spirit of our constitution nor does such practice comply with the diplomatic protocols.
There is nothing wrong in waving small hand flags on the roadsides while welcoming a foreign head of state as a show of our respect to a friendly country or within a stadium as a sporting exuberance on the part of fans. But hoisting thousands of foreign flags on the rooftops and balconies of private houses should not be allowed on any future occasion, call it FIFA or Cricket World Cup.
Now that a culture of hoisting a Brazilian or an Argentinean flag during FIFA World Cup seems to have taken roots in our country, the government may find it a little embarrassing to impose an outright ban on the practice. And the government may not find an excuse to debar people from their hoisting on our land a national flag, for example, of a sensitive country like Pakistan or Israel when there are cricket tournaments or Olympic events in the future. If such practice of hoisting foreign flags during games or sports does not contravene diplomatic protocols, the government may issue a public order, of course after taking due permissions from the respective foreign countries, for fans to follow a set rule of flag etiquettes like hoisting both our national flag and the flag of the country representing the favourite players of the fans with our flag always on the top of the foreign flag if hoisted on the same pole or hoisting both the flags on two separate poles of different heights with our flag hoisted always on the taller one.
Bangladesh National Anthem, Flag and Emblem (Amendment) Act, 2010 may also be amended in future with provisions of stricter punishments for any kind of direct or indirect disrespect to our national flag or anthem. In Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, desecration of the national flag is a criminal offence of grievous nature, typically punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.
There should be strict instructions for the manufacturers and tailors of our national flags as to its dimensions, colours etc. There must also be provision in the law to punish anybody who will be found manufacturing, tailoring or using a national flag with defective dimensions or colours. Now that many of us live in apartments, there should be compulsory provisions with a metallic flagpole-holder on the wall in the balconies of individual apartments to hoist a flag in a slanting angle.
The new law should encompass punishment for one who "burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts)" the flag in a public place or in public view. It should also make it an offence to show "disrespect" to the flag through using the flag "as a portion of cosmetics, costume or uniform", on "cushions, handkerchiefs or napkins", as "covering for a statue" or allowing the flag to "touch the ground or water".
Exuberance over "showing the flag" should never win out over taste and decorum. Painting our flag on cheeks and chins should be discouraged as such practices may give a wrong impression about the sanctity and intrinsic value of our flag and in the process, the flag may be deemed by our children as a part of facial cosmetics. The flag should never be used for purposes of advertising; nor should it be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. Flag patches should not be part of an athletic uniform.
It is really ignominious and lamentable when we find hawkers selling our national flags made in weird sizes and colours. Most of the manufacturers of our national flags are completely ignorant about the dimensions and colours of our national flag. The government should undertake programmes through schools and colleges and also through mass media to develop among people, especially among our children, an awareness of how to honour, hoist and preserve our national flags and how to sing our national anthem properly.
We should educate our people that our national flag must be in the bottle green (Procion Brilliant Green H-2RS 50 parts per 1000) and rectangular in the exact proportion of 10:06 with a red (Procion Brilliant Orange H-2RS 60 parts per 1000) circular disc and the red circle will have a radius of one-fifth of the length of the flag. Its center will be placed on the intersecting point of the perpendicular drawn from the nine-twentieth part of the length of the flag, and the horizontal line drawn through the middle of its width. Depending on the site or size of the building the sizes will be 10 × 6 ft or 5 × 3 ft or 2.5 × 1.5 ft. The size of the flag for car has to be 12.5 × 7.5 in and the size of the table flag for bilateral conferences 10 × 6 in.
We also should know that when our national anthem is played and the national flag is displayed, all present in a field or in a community hall, in a cinema hall, in a school or in a stadium, we shall have to face the flag and pay our utmost attention to every word of the anthem in remembrance of our valiant freedom fighters who have awarded us the independence and in determination to fulfill the promises they made and the dreams they dreamt about our Golden Bangladesh.
Our children should know the history and meaning of our national flag and our national anthem; our children should know that the red disc in flag represents the sun rising over the Bay of Bengal and also the blood of those who died for our independence and the green field of the flag stands for the lushness of the land flooded by greeneries of nature. Our children should realize the sublime meaning of each and every word and stanza of the lyric and pay respect to Rabindranath Tagore, the lyricist of our national anthem. Teaching these values to our children is extremely important but unfortunately many Bangladeshis, the aged and the young alike, can sing many songs of foreign languages from A to Z but cannot remember a line beyond the first sentence of our national anthem. We should take a moment with our children and grandchildren to explain to them the importance of our national flag and our national anthem and what makes Bangladesh so unique: its freedom, its democracy, its value and its future.
The writer can be reached
at e-mail:
maswood@hotmail.com