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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

President takes prompt cognizance

Mumbai: President Droupadi Murmu has taken immediate cognizance of a plea pointing at grave insults to the Indian Tricolour (Tiranga) in pubs and hotels, violations to the Flag Code of India, 2002, in the name of celebrating Republic Day and Independence Day. Pune businessman-cum-activist Prafful Sarda had shot off a complaint to the President on Jan. 26 but was surprised to receive a response from her office in less than 72 hours. Under Secretary Lakshmi Maharabooshanam in the President’s...

President takes prompt cognizance

Mumbai: President Droupadi Murmu has taken immediate cognizance of a plea pointing at grave insults to the Indian Tricolour (Tiranga) in pubs and hotels, violations to the Flag Code of India, 2002, in the name of celebrating Republic Day and Independence Day. Pune businessman-cum-activist Prafful Sarda had shot off a complaint to the President on Jan. 26 but was surprised to receive a response from her office in less than 72 hours. Under Secretary Lakshmi Maharabooshanam in the President’s Secretariat at Rashtrapati Bhavan, replied to Sarda on forwarding his complaint to the Ministry of Home Affairs for necessary action. It further stated that action taken in the matter must be conveyed directly to Sarda. “It’s a pleasant surprise indeed that the President has taken serious note of the issue of insults to the National Flag at night-clubs, pubs, lounges, sports bars and other places all over the country. The blatant mishandling of the National Flag also violates the specially laid-down provisions of the Flag Code of India,” said Sarda. He pointed out that the Tricolor is a sacred symbol and not a ‘commercial prop’ for entertainment purposes to be used by artists without disregard for the rules. “There are multiple videos, reels or photos available on social media… It's painful to view how the National Flag is being grossly misused, disrespected and even displayed at late nights or early morning hours, flouting the rules,” Sarda said. The more worrisome aspect is that such transgressions are occurring openly, repeatedly and apparently without any apprehensions for the potential consequences. This indicates serious lapses in the enforcement and supervision, but such unchecked abuse could portend dangerous signals that national symbols can be ‘trivialized and traded for profits’. He urged the President to direct the issue of stringent written guidelines with circular to all such private or commercial outlets on mandatory compliance with the Flag Code of India, conduct special awareness drives, surprise checks on such venues and regular inspections to curb the misuse of the Tricolour. Flag Code of India, 2002 Perturbed over the “perceptible lack of awareness” not only among the masses but also governmental agencies with regard to the laws, practices and conventions for displaying the National Flag as per the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, the centre had brought out the detailed 25-page Flag Code of India, 2002. The Flag Code of India has minute guidelines on the display of the Tricolour, the happy occasions when it flies high, or the sad times when it is at half-mast, the privileged dignitaries who are entitled to display it on their vehicles, etc. Certain violations attract hefty fines and/or imprisonment till three years.

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla set for space mission in May



Indian astronaut-designate Shubhanshu Shukla is expected to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as May this year, according to an update from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).

Group Captain Shukla has been designated as the astronaut and Mission Pilot for the mission.

Currently serving as an officer in the Indian Air Force, Shukla will become the second Indian to journey into space, nearly four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's historic flight in 1984. He will be joined by mission commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut; Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland; and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

His selection follows the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) identification of him as a key astronaut for India’s Gaganyaan mission, the country’s first human spaceflight program. Gaganyaan aims to send a three-member crew into a 400 km low-Earth orbit for up to three days. As part of this initiative, ISRO has partnered with NASA and Axiom Space.

India has also designated Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as a backup astronaut for Ax-4, who will take Shukla’s place if needed.

Under an agreement between NASA and ISRO, India has secured a seat for its astronaut on this Axiom Space Inc. mission, a Houston-based company facilitating private space travel. The collaboration between the two space agencies may be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump.

Ax-4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket. Once docked at the ISS, the crew is expected to spend up to 14 days conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. This mission also marks the first time astronauts from Poland and Hungary will stay aboard the space station.

NASA noted that the first private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 1, launched in April 2022 for a 17-day stay aboard the ISS. The second mission, Axiom Mission 2, took place in May 2023, with four private astronauts spending eight days in orbit. The most recent, Axiom Mission 3, lifted off in January 2024, with its crew spending 18 days at the station.

The anticipated May launch of Ax-4 comes just months after Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams returned to Earth following a 286-day space mission.

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