Church leaders criticize order to fly flag at universities

Indian government overreacting to student protests, critics say.

New Delh (UCAN) : (In the pic: The Indian national flag is waved at a protest against the arrest of an Indian student for sedition in New Delhi on Feb. 18. Church leaders have criticized a government order that universities fly the Indian flag as a lesson in nationalism to students. (Photo by AFP)

Indian church leaders have criticized the federal government's decision to require India's flag be displayed at universities to install a sense of nationalism among students, saying the government misunderstands the issue.

The federal ministry of human resource and development Feb. 18 asked the vice chancellors of 39 central universities to "prominently and proudly" display the flag at their respective campuses.

The decision has come amid the backdrop of anti-India slogans allegedly being raised by students at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, forcing the government to press sedition charges against those accused.

"Our universities are nationalistic. This is just the government's wrong understanding of what is nationalism," said Samuel Jaikumar of the National Council of Churches in India.

Jaikumar told ucanews.com that the order shows that there is no space for people to speak in this country.

"Putting a flag on a university is just a superficial arrangement by the government. Indians do not need a certificate from anyone about being nationalist," he said.

Father Savari Muthu, spokesman for the Delhi Archdiocese, told ucanews.com that the timing of the government on this decision is not right, and it should have waited for the issue to settle down.

"A person is not a nationalist only if he has a flag on the top of his house. The government's way of prescribing one kind of nationalism is not good for the nation," he said.

Source: UCAN

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