JNU row: In order to instill 'nationalistic' values, government to install national flag in central universities

NEW DELHI: Amid protests in several cities over arrest of a JNU student leader on sedition charges, a meeting chaired by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has decided that the national flag will be installed in every central university. “At a central place at every university, the national flag will be flown prominently and proudly,” said a resolution unanimously passed at the conference of vice-chancellors of central universities on Thursday.

Sources told ET that the national flag on a 207 feet high mast, weighing 35 kg, is likely to be installed across central university campuses.

The first of these high mast flags will be installed at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, sources said, where the current political controversy started, leading to the arrest of its students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar.

The dimensions will be as per the flag code and will roughly be the same height as the Tricolour installed at the central park in Connaught Place, New Delhi.

The resolution to install national flag in campuses was passed to instil “nationalistic” values on campus and represent a strong and united India, sources said. It was also decided at the conference that in order to ensure that no student is deprived of higher education due to “language limitation”, universities will ensure instruction in English and an Indian language as applicable to the state.

That apart, it was decided that a range of measures would be taken to ensure that students from disadvantaged sections of society do not face any kind of discrimination on campus.

Among suggestions made are to bring in remedial coaching and life skills training for such students, special courses designed for them for this purpose, and a fullfledged counselling system.

That apart the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulation 2012, which comprehensively address this issue, must be implemented across the 46 central universities, it was agreed upon at the conference of vice-chancellors. A mentoring system on the lines of what is operational at IIT Gandhinagar has also been recommended.

ET VIEW

Churlish and silly
Government diktats to universities on flying the national flag is utterly antithetical to the spirit of liberal democracy, especially in the 21st century. HRD ministry can argue it is procedurally right, and that it is the paymaster for central universities. But that’s missing the point entirely. The order makes GoI look churlish, brutish and silly. Is that how the Modi govt wants to look?