On the eve of stepping down from office, I am overwhelmed by a deep sense of gratitude for the people of India, their elected representatives and the political parties for the trust and confidence they reposed in me. I am humbled by their kindness and affection. I have received much more from the country than I have given. For that, I will remain ever indebted to the people of India.

I congratulate and extend a warm welcome to Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the President-to-be and wish him success and happiness in the years to come.

Our founding fathers, with the adoption of Constitution, set in motion powerful forces that liberated us from the stranglehold of inequity in gender, caste and community along with other fetters that had tied us for too long. It inspired a social and cultural evolution which put Indian society on the track to modernity. 

A modern nation is built on some essential fundamentals – democracy or equal rights for every citizen, secularism or equal freedom to every faith, equality of every region, and economic equity. For development to be real, the poorest of the land must feel that they are a part of the nation’s narrative.

Five years ago, when I took the oath of office of the President of the Republic, I promised to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution, not just in word but also in spirit. Each day of these five years, I was conscious of my responsibility. I learnt from my travels across the length and breadth of the country. I learnt from my conversations with young and bright minds in colleges and universities, scientists, innovators, scholars, jurists, authors, artists and leaders from across the spectrum. These interactions kept me focused and inspired. I strove hard. How successful I was in discharging my responsibilities will be judged, over the time, by the critical lens of history.

As one advances in years, so does one’s propensity to sermonize. But I have no sermon to make. For the past fifty years of my public life, – 

My sacred text has been the Constitution of India;

My temple has been the Parliament of India; and 

My passion has been the service of the people of India. 

I want to share with you some truths that I have internalized in this period:

The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. India is not just a geographical entity. It carries a history of ideas, philosophy, intellect, industrial genius, craft, innovation and experience. Plurality of our society has come about through assimilation of ideas over centuries. The multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special. We derive our strength from tolerance. It has been part of our collective consciousness for centuries. There are divergent strands in public discourse. We may argue, we may agree or we may not agree.But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion. Otherwise, a fundamental character of our thought process will wither away.

The capacity for compassion and empathy is the true foundation of our civilization. But every day, we see increased violence around us. At the heart of this violence is darkness, fear and mistrust. We must free our public discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal. Only a non-violent society can ensure the participation of all sections of the people, especially the marginalized and the dispossessed in the democratic process. Power of non-violence has to be resurrected to build a compassionate and caring society.

Protection of the environment is essential for our survival. Nature has been kind to us in its bounty. But when greed exceeds need, nature lets loose its fury. We often see some parts of India affected by devastating floods while others reel under severe drought. Climate change has put farming sector under tremendous stress. Scientists and technologists have to work with millions of farmers and workers to revive the health of our soil, arrest the decline in water table and restore the ecological balance. We all have to act together now for the future may not give us another chance.

As I had said on assuming the Office of the President, education is the alchemy that can take India to its next golden age. A reordering of society is possible through the transformative power of education. For that, we have to upgrade our higher institutions of learning to world-class levels. Our education system must accept disruption as a norm and prepare our students to manage and build upon the disruptions. Our universities should not be a place for rote-memorizing but an assembly of inquisitive minds. Creative thinking, innovation and scientific temper have to be promoted in our institutions of higher learning. It calls for application of logic through discussion, argument and analysis. These qualities have to be cultivated and autonomy of mind has to be encouraged.

For us, creation of an inclusive society has to be an article of faith. Gandhiji saw India as an inclusive nation where every section of our population lived in equality and enjoyed equal opportunity. He wanted our people to move forward unitedly in ever-widening thought and action. Financial inclusion is at the core of an equitable society. We must empower the poorest of the poor and ensure that the fruits of our policies reach the last person in the line.

To lead healthy, happy and productive lives is the basic right of our citizens. Happiness is fundamental to the human experience of life. Happiness is equally the outcome of economic and non-economic parameters. The quest for happiness is closely tied to the quest for sustainable development, which is the combination of human well-being, social inclusion and environmental stability. Eradication of poverty would provide a strong boost to happiness. A sustainable environment would prevent damage to the planetary resources. Social inclusion would ensure access to the fruits of progress to all. Good governance would provide the ability to people to shape their own lives through transparent, accountable and participatory political institutions.

During my five years in Rashtrapati Bhavan, we tried to build a humane and happy township. We found happiness that is associated with joy and pride, smiling and laughter, good health, feeling of safety and positive actions. We learnt to wear a smile always; to laugh at life; to connect with nature and get involved with the community. And then, we extended our experience to a few villages in the neighbourhood. The journey continues.

As I get ready to leave, let me repeat what I said in my first Address to the Nation on the eve of Independence Day 2012: “Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to the people and their representatives for the honour of this high office even as I am deeply conscious of the fact that the highest honour in our democracy does not lie in any office but in being a citizen of India, our motherland. We are all equal children before our mother and India asks each one of us in whatever role we play in the complex drama of nation building to do our duty with integrity, commitment and unflinching loyalty to the values enshrined in our Constitution”.

When I speak to you tomorrow, it will not be as the President but as a citizen– a pilgrim like all of you in India’s onward march towards glory.

The President Shri Pranab Mukherjee demits office in a few hours.  His presidency was the culmination of extraordinary career of a political leader.  India has seen a few politicians like him who had the capacity to evolve into a statesman irrespective of their political affiliation and the office that they held.  Pranabda is one such leader who brought dignity to every office that he held.  

My first contact with him started when he, along with Dr. Manmohan Singh, was occupying the opposition benches during the Vajpayee Government.  He chaired important Standing Committees which had the responsibility of clearing several legislations.  Three of them were important constitution amendments.  One related to the freezing of seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislatures despite demographic changes in several States.  The second involved review of the Anti-Defection Law.  The third one dealt with limiting the size of the Council of Ministers both in the centre and the States.  His Committee expeditiously considered these amendments and improved upon the drafts that the Government had prepared and produced a much better document.  He evolved a consensus on all these issues.  Even in opposition he was never an obstructionist.  He was a product of the parliamentary system and favoured using Parliament for larger National interest.   

In his later years, I closely observed him both as a Member and subsequently as a Leader of the Opposition.  His natural ability was to rise above partisan arguments.  In Parliament, he almost spoke like an amicus curiae – a friend of the House, rather than a party leader.  This quality enabled him to evolve a consensus in favour of the argument that he advanced.  Very rarely did he lose his cool, but if he did, he was smiling a minute later and making up with his target through some complimentary references.

He had a great sense of history which blended with his vision of constitutional propriety.  The democrat in him insisted that the Government and the opposition had to work in tandem on major issues.  He could recollect parliamentary and judicial precedents to decide which was the right course that had to be pursued.  

As President, he was unquestionably the guardian of the Constitution.  He realised that in a democracy there could only be one power centre i.e. elected Government and the Prime Minister.  He, therefore, actively associated with two different Governments during his presidency with equal ease.  He ensured that all decisions of the Council of Ministers had to conform to constitutional propriety.  On some occasions, he wanted to be satisfied before he accorded his approval to those decisions.  I was usually sent to interact with him.  He was always well prepared on facts, on Constitutional requirements and the need for fairness.  These essentials had to be balanced with the requirement of the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers being forwarded to him.  This delicate balance he maintained throughout his tenure. He always accepted the advise of the Council of Ministers.   

Pranabda exhibited a unique charm which won him many admirers’.  He made dealing with him a matter of delight.  He put all his interlocutors at ease.  He grew in stature with each day.  His transformation from a senior Minister to a President was exemplary.  As president he was completely non-partisan and conducted himself as an advisor and a guide to his Governments.  He owned up the programmes of the Government and became their advocate.  He once told me that he had the unique privilege of moving before Parliament the Constitution amendment of Good and Services Tax.  He wanted to approve the Constitution amendment during his tenure as the President.  It gave him great satisfaction when he did so.  

He exits from the Rashtrapati Bhawan with a great stature.  He will now assume a greater role of advising and guiding the nation as an amicus curiae which he always was.

( Arun Jaitley is Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs )

New research by The George Institute for Global Health has revealed high and unnecessary amount of salt in instant noodles sold around the world. As many as 765 noodle brands collected from 10 countries between 2012 and 2016 showed huge variations in the amount of salt in instant noodles both, within and between countries; with some noodle products containing 30 times more salt than others.

Noodles in China contained the most salt with an average packet (98g) containing 95 per cent of the daily recommend maximum intake (5g salt/day) . India came in at ninth, but almost 70 per cent of its instant noodles failed to have salt listed on the nutritional information panel.

Australia has the second highest salty instant noodles of the 10 countries studied, followed by Indonesia, Fiji, Samoa, UK, Costa Rica, South Africa and New Zealand at the bottom.

The saltiest packet of noodles was found in Indonesia which contained (19gms salt/100 gms), and almost 6 times saltier than the Pacific Ocean itself. The average packet of instant noodles in Australia contains more than 80% of daily recommended maximum and more salt than eight packets of Smith’s ready salted crisps.

Clare Farrand, Public Health Nutritionist at The George Institute for Global Health, said the findings were especially shocking given that 270 million servings of noodles are consumed worldwide every day: “We have found that it’s almost impossible for people in India to know how much salt they are eating. We know that instant noodles are high in salt from what we have seen in other countries but this is being hidden from Indian consumers.

“Eating too much salt is estimated to cause about 1.65 million deaths a year globally. It puts us at great risk of developing high blood pressure, increasing the risk of stroke, heart disease and heart attacks’’, he said.

Clare Farrand added: “There is a huge amount of salt in a serving of noodles, but what is more worrying is that in reality people tend to eat the entire packet of noodles, rather than just the recommended serving size, eating even more salt than what is advertised.”

The research further highlights how inconsistent and confusing nutrition labels are worldwide with some companies labelling salt per serving, some salt per 100grams as prepared and some salt per 100grams as sold – making it almost impossible to compare.

Clare Farrand said: “Information on pack can be incredibly misleading. There is not a standard serve size, pack sizes differ and the amount of water manufacturers are recommending to add varies considerably.

“Nutrition information should be given a clear and consistent way to enable people to make healthier choices and manufacturers should reduce salt levels in noodles to below agreed targets.”

To help people make healthier packaged food choices and stay healthy The George Institute for Global Health developed ‘FoodSwitch’ – an innovative mobile health app, which gives instant easy to understand nutrition information for packaged food products, and suggests healthier alternatives. The app is available in the UK, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa can be used to help consumer to make healthier choices.

The George Institute has recommended that consumers should check the label where possible or use FoodSwitch to choose the lower salt options, limit intake to an occasional meal or side dish, ditch the flavour sachet which contains most of the salt and add your own herbs and spices or use only a portion of the flavour sachet to reduce your salt intake. Also, noodles can be drained before eating, to reduce salt. Or some vegetables added which will cook with the steam in the noodles.

The George Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Population Salt Reduction (WHOCC SALT) at the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, in collaboration with the Global Food Monitoring Group, has a program of work to monitor the global food supply with a view to monitor changes and identify opportunities to reformulate as a means to reduce population level salt consumption, and support countries to develop reformulation targets as part of their national salt reduction initiatives.

India’s top leadership, led by the President Pranab Mukherjee who is also the supreme commander of armed forces, on Saturday witnessed a spectacular and breathtaking display of the Indian Air Force’s combat and firepower capabilities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the three service chiefs were present at the firing range in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district to watch the exercise “”Iron Fist 2016.

Referring to the combat exercise Prime Minister Modi tweeted that he is happy to witness Iron Fist 2016 at Pokhran in the Thar Desert, with Rashtrapatiji. He noted that the firepower of the Air Force and the skill of the Air Warriors fills our hearts with immense pride. The Prime Minister said that the combat and manoeuvre skills, attack and defence capabilities displayed by IAF are spectacular and speak of the prowess and dedication of our forces. The exercise will showcase the journey of the IAFs transformation over the years and cover its glorious history while presenting its lethal side and delivering fire power both by the day as well as by night. 
The primary objective of this exercise is to demonstrate the IAF’s capability to safeguard our national interests. During the exercise, the IAF projected its transformational state-of-the-art combat potential for meeting challenges be it from the air, land or sea.

The event comprised six packages depicting six themes in which more than 180 fighters, transport aircraft and helicopters are participating. Capability demonstration of the indigenously developed “”Tejas”” aircraft to deliver Laser Guided Bomb and fire a Air-to-Air Missile and the capability of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter to carry out rocket firing was carried out for the first time. It was followed by a simulation of a Combat Search and Rescue operation carried out by the IAF’s versatile helicopters such as MI-35 and Mi-17V5. The firing of Akash Missile was also undertaken for the first time in the IAF’s history of Fire Power Demonstration.

As night drew down upon the desert skies, the night capabilities of the IAF came to the fore. A number of targets were engaged by fighters, transport aircraft and helicopters using rockets as well as bombs. The Combat Free-Fall jumps during the night showcased, how the IAF could take on insertion of troops deep into the enemy territory, undetected. The entire event showcased more than 22 types of platforms and Weapons systems.  Frontline fighter aircraft including Sukhoi 30, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, MiG-29,  Attack helicopters, Remotely Piloted Aircraft(RPA) and high tech AWACS displayed their potential during the show. Light Combat Aircraft “”Tejas”” and LCH the prestigious indigenous projects, were also a part of air display.

Cultivation of sandalwood trees could get a boost with Indian researchers figuring out how sandal trees derive their nutrition from other plants.

Sandalwood is a parasitic plant deriving its nutritional requirement from other plants. It has modified roots called haustoria which penetrate host plants and draw nutrition from them. Scientists from the College of Forestry and College of Horticulture under Kerala Agricultural University in Thirussur have found out how sandal trees suck nutritional food from their host plants.

The study has revealed that a sandal tree could connect with its host plants up to a distance of three metres. Not just this, an individual tree can form a network with several hosts including the grass around them. This process of nutrition uptake, however, is not one-sided. While meeting their nutrition needs from hosts, sandal trees partly meet nutrition needs of their hosts, according to the study published in journal Current Science. 

“Till now only a few studies were available on the relationship between the host and field-grown sandal trees. Since understanding of the anatomy and functional status of haustoria in field-grown sandal would give important clues on how sandal takes up food material from the hosts, we carried out studies to understand physiological state of haustoria,” explained lead researcher Dr A V Santhoshkumar.

At present, sandal trees and host plants are grown alongside each other in the same pit. The new findings would mean that farmers can try out innovative cropping patterns like agroforestry to get maximum benefit from a given plot of land. 

In recent years, production of sandalwood has dwindled while the demand has been going up. Production has dropped from 4000 tonnes in the 1950s to 500 tonnes a year, mainly due to indiscriminate felling of trees. The central and state governments have taken measures to attract farmers to sandalwood tree cultivation, but large scale planting has not picked up because trees don’t get established properly. 

The study team included P.K.Ashokan, E.V.Anoop and D.Rocha of College of Forestry and P.Sureshkumar of College of Horticulture. (India Science Wire)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a frontal attack against Pakistan, labelling it as “exporter of terror” and a nation which was hell-bent on disturbing peace and indulging in bloodbath in Asia. 
Declaring that he was directly addressing the people of Pakistan, Mr. Modi sent  strong message, pledging that “India will never forget the terror attack in Uri” right on the Line of Control in the Kashmir Valley in which 18 soldiers of Indian Army were martyred when terrorists stormed an army base last Sunday. 
In his first public speech since Uri terror attack, Prime Minister Modi said while giving an interesting spin: “People of Pakistan, we are ready to fight you. Show courage and let’s fight poverty and see who eradicates poverty faster. Who wins the fight against unemployment first, who wins the battle against infant mortality first.””
At the same time, Mr. Modi was unsparing in warning Islamabad, vowing that India would ensure that the international community would work to isolate Pakistan. India, he said, would not be cowed down by terrorism. He said that 110 terrorists have been killed by the Indian Army in the last few months. “Terrorists have tried to strike 17 times recently, they were successful in one incident and caused loss of lives of 18 Indian Army jawans,”” he said. .
Pointing out that the neighbouring nations gained independence at the same time, the PM said that  “”India exports software, you export terror””. There was little the world expected from Pakistan’s leaders, who “”read speeches written by terrorists,”” said Mr. Modi while addressing a party rally at BJP National Council meet in Kozhikode in Kerala. 
Describing terrorism as enemy of the entire humanity, the Prime Minister said, Pakistani leaders had talked about are talking about waging  a thousand years war with India. He said that he was ready to accept the challenge, cautioning the people of Pakistan that their leaders were misleading them by talking about Kashmir when they just cannot take care of even the part of Kashmir under Pakistan’s occupation and could not retain East Pakistan which is Bangaldesh today.

The Prime Minister urged the people of Pakistan to ask their leaders why is it that Pakistan had become epicentre of terrorism. He said the day is not far off when the people of Pakistan will come out to fight against terrorism. Mr. Modi said that in the 21st century, India must be free from poverty, unemployment, discrimination, injustice and corruption.

The Prime Minister said, Kerala has the potential of being number one state of the country and BJP and the central government will always be ready to help in this endeavour. He said, India is being recognized the world over as the fastest moving economy.

Apex court affirms principle of accountability as an essential part of rule of law. Supreme Court regrets NHRC reduced to a toothless tiger. 

In a far reaching directive, the Supreme Court has come down heavily against extra-judicial killings urging the Centre to address the concerns of the National Human Rights Commission. It has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe more than 80 cases of suspected extra-judicial killings in Manipur. 
The Apex court expressed concern about the NHRC being reduced to a toothless tiger. What the legal fraternity finds encouraging is the Supreme Court affirming the principle of accountability being an essential part of the rule of law and that encounter killings cannot be overlooked owing to lapse of time. 
These cases involved either suspected fake encounters or the use of excessive or retaliatory force. The court has turned down attempts by the government to stall any probe into these deaths on the ground they were too old to be raked up now. The state cannot take advantage of its own inaction and scuttle a probe by citing delay as a reason.
Inexplicably there is a certain disbelief about putting an end to extra-judicial killings or deaths in encounters. International human rights law prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of life under any circumstances. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”. 
Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) holds that “every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life”. Article 4 of the ICCPR states that this right cannot be waived “even in times of public emergency threatening the life of a nation”. 
The government ratified the ICCPR in 1979 and in doing so India is obliged not only to respect the right to life in principle but also take effective measures to ensure that extra-judicial killings do not occur in practice. Although the Right to Life is enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution, the prevalence of extra-judicial killings shows the government has failed to take effective measures ensuring the right to life is adhered to in practice. 
The government has failed to ensure adequate investigation of all complaints and reports of extra-judicial killings. Proper investigation is a critical factor in the prevention of alleged encounter killings and without adequate investigation of complaints there is hardly any hope of prosecuting and convicting the perpetrators. 
Even as the government has not demonstrated a commitment in ensuring that all complaints of extra-judicial killing are adequately investigated, the NHRC has failed in being effective in combating extra-judicial killings. This is also on account of its guidelines not being followed by police in all the cases of encounter killings. 
Studies by several human rights organisations about extra-judicial killings by police in this country observed that such killings are not isolated but occur throughout the country. Last year the court had ruled that the armed forces cannot escape investigation for excesses even in places where they enjoy special powers, and that the legal protection provided by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) will have to yield to the principles of human rights. 
The Apex court made the call last week after hearing a PIL seeking a probe and compensation for about 1,530 alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur from 2000 to 2012 by the army, para-military and police forces. On its part the government has failed to show the commitment in bringing to book those responsible for extra-judicial killings. 
The situation under AFSPA is so hostile to the concept of human rights that in many of these cases there was no inquiry at all. It will be difficult for the investigators to get to the bottom of these incidents. The difficulties encountered cannot be the reason for denying or putting off a formal criminal investigation as required. Notwithstanding the time lapse, Justice must be served with prosecution in as many cases as possible.  

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)

NEW DELHI: The Government on Friday said that it has not only put stringent norms over Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) emissions norms from mobile towers but has also set a well-structured process and mechanism in place to make the Telecommunication Service Providers strictly adhere to limits.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha , Minister of State for Communication Manoj Sinha said that, all the new Base Transceiver Stations(BTS) start functioning commercially only after adhering to the set norms and furbishing certificates to the relevant Telecom Enforcement Resources and Monitoring’s(TERM) field office of the Department of Telecommunication(DoT).
In case of any EMF norms violation by the BTS site, a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per BTS site is imposed along with shutting down of the concerned site.
Mr Sinha also said that, in accordance with the World Health Organisation(WHO) reviews, the EMF exposures below the recommended limits as per International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection’s (ICNIRP) international guidelines do not have any known consequence to human health.
” In India, the norms for exposure limits for the Radio Frequency Field(Base Station Emissions) are already ten times more stringent than the safe limits prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO”, he said.
This further averts the need for having separate norms in residential localities for installation of the cell phone towers, he added.

NEW DELHI : A new discovery by India’s space telescope, Astrosat, has dashed hopes of alien life on our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri. Highly energetic flare simultaneously observed by Astrosat and NASA’s space telescopes on Proxima means it is not habitable as thought till now. 

Astronomers say the strong flare observed on Proxima Centauri On May 31 rules out alien life on this exoplanet. “It makes it highly improbable for earth like life forms to exist there, unless we find special radiation resistant life forms” observed Prof. K.P. Singh of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, who was involved in the discovery.

Proxima Centauri, the nearest exoplanet discovered till date, is not much larger than the Earth and is mostly likely a rocky planet. It has been orbiting in the so-called “habitable zone” that astronomers think could harbour life. Some even ventured to claim that perhaps the first alien we would encounter would come from this planet. 

All such hopes were dashed on 31 May when joint observation by Astrosat along with Chandra X ray space telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and a ground-based observatory High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) observed a very intense flare resulting from an explosion on its surface. 

The star is known to flare often, but the flare that was observed in May lasted for about 1800 seconds and released energy in the order of 10³⁰ erg. “The typical energy released during a solar flare is of the order of 10^26-28 erg. That means this flare is hundred times that of those seen on the Sun,” pointed out Prof Singh “If a flare like the one observed on Proxima Centauri occurs on our Sun it might disrupt power grids, broadcast and electricity on the earth and also affect astronauts in space.”

Powerful and frequent flaring events, as seen on Proxima, may produce large radiations and particles which may significantly influence its atmosphere habitability, according to Prof Jürgen Schmitt, another member of the research team.

The hefty flare observed on the surface of Proxima Centauri spewed a dash of strong X rays and far-UV rays, ten times the normal, bathing the planet in a rain of deadly radiation. “The high-energy photons like the UV and X-ray photons are absorbed by the planetary atmosphere heating it to 10s of 1000s of Kelvin affecting the capability of the planet to sustain its atmosphere and in particular to sustain water in liquid form,” pointed out Dr. Lalitha Sairam of Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.

Not more than five to ten times the mass of Earth, revolving around a star just 12% as massive as our Sun and 0.1% as bright, Proxima Centauri may not be that appealing. Given an orbital period of just 11 days, the exoplanet was thought to be warm enough but not close by to be scorching hot. The host star, Proxima Centauri, is joined by stars Alpha Centauri A and B, 15000 astronomical units (AU) away in creating a multi-star system. Thus from the planet, one would have been able to see three ‘sun’s floating in the sky. All would be fine if these stars were well behaved. But it is known that Proxima Centauri flares frequently. 

In ‘cool dwarfs’ like Proxima Centauri, as a result of fluctuating magnetic reconnection on its surface, large amount energy and ionic particles are released all around. Such events called as “flaring” can have timescales of few minutes to hours. 

The Indian team had another special reason for being happy with this observation. “For first time, Astrosat is part of such a large observing campaign with other space-based observatories like Chandra and Hubble,” said Prof Singh, who developed the Soft X-ray Telescope which is on board Astrosat. (India Science Wire) 

Union Home ministry explains Karnataka already has a state flag which represents the people and not the government. Siddaramaiah government constitutes nine-member committee to study state flag issue in its entirety. 

A major controversy has erupted in Karnataka about having an official flag for the state. It has led to allegations of subverting the national Tricolour though there is nothing in the Constitution about a state having its own flag or otherwise. 

State chief minister P C Siddaramaiah heading the Congress government in Karnataka emphasised that nothing unconstitutional was afoot and no decision has been taken one way or the other about the state flag. 

However, a nine-member committee under the state’s Culture ministry has been constituted to study the issue in its entirety and submit a report. The BJP being in the opposition remained nonchalant about the state flag 

dismissing it as a gimmick in the run up to the assembly elections due in May next year.

Other opposition leaders like H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(U) maintained there is no provision in the Constitution for a state flag. Three years back in 2014, Patil Puttappa, a veteran journalist in his nineties and Bheemappa Gundappa, a 56-year-old RTI activist, made a demand for an official flag for Karnataka. 

Last month on the sixth June the state’s Kannada and Culture department notified the setting up of a nine-member committee to examine the feasibility and legal issues about the demand for a state flag. 

The local media sought to project it as an effort by the Congress government to subvert the national flag and the law that only allows Jammu and Kashmir to have its own flag.  

BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje alleged the state government was going against the nation by looking into the demand for a state flag. The Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande has demanded that the Centre should take up this matter of a separate state flag for Karnataka seriously and make a strong intervention in the matter.  

BJP leaders charged the Congress with whipping up Kannada pride ahead of the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka. In the national capital a senior Congress leader observed it was out of the question for the party to accept a separate flag for Karnataka or any other state. At the same time the AICC general secretary incharge of Karnataka K C Venugopal played down the controversy saying “the chief minister has already given a clarification. They have not decided anything. The Committee will see whether the demand is admissible as the legal points have to be looked into”. 

It may be recalled that Karnataka has had an official state flag since the mid-1960s. The Red and Yellow flag was created by Kannada writer and activist Ma Ramamurthy for a pro-Kannada political party though many parties representing non-Kannadigas now had flags of their own.

Those familiar with the issue of Kannada identity, the recent developments are attempts to build a broader identity base for the Congress. The anti-Hindi sentiment in Karnataka is being viewed as part of this particularly the use of Hindi at metro stations in Bengaluru. 

Impartial observers believe that pro-Kannada activists have virtually adopted the red and yellow flag as a symbol of state pride. Nevertheless the Sadananda Gowda led BJP government in 2012 had informed the Karnataka High Court that it has not accepted the suggestions in declaring the bi-colour Kanada flag as the state’s official flag, as 

having a separate flag would be against the unity and integrity of the country. 

Simultaneously, as a measure of  abundant caution, the Union Home ministry clarified that “We are one nation, one flag. Legally there is no provision either for providing or prohibiting a separate flag for any state”. 

It was explained Karnataka already has a flag which only “represents the people and not the government”. The flag is not used in national ceremonies like the Republic Day or Independence Day but on occasions like the state foundation day, the ministry added.

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)