Half-masting of Tricolour must stop

A nation has to keep its flag flying high reflecting the aspirations of its entire population.

- MAJ GEN ASHOK KUMAR (RETD)

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan passed away on Friday, 13 May 2022. There are no questions about his importance and value as the President of United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, besides that India has close relations with UAE which are in absolute national interest of India on multiple counts and along with that a huge diaspora of Indian population has been employed in various parts of the Emirates. This leads to Indians remitting a substantial portion of their earnings to their families back in India adding to the financial capacity of the nation. More so, the decision of half masting of the National Flag done in his honour is in conformity with the existing practices and rules and regulations on the subject. Flag is flown half-mast on a number of occasions like in this case on the demise of certain individuals occupying high constitutional position in the country and these have been codified in a comprehensive manner. The cases of foreign dignitaries on whose demise the flag is half-masted is also decided by the government of the day as per the powers vested in them. The issue is not about whether half masting of the Indian National Flag is correct in one case versus the other but it is whether the National Flag should be half-masted at all.