In India it could have landed him in jail‚ but the Newlands cricket ground staffer who hoisted the national flag upside down got away with a few blushes.
The Tricolour — based on a Mahatma Gandhi design dating from 1920 — was flown on Wednesday alongside the flags of South Africa and Cricket South Africa while the Indian team was training in the nets ahead of Friday’s first Test against South Africa.
But in a faux pas punishable by a maximum of three years behind bars in India‚ it had the green stripe at the top‚ rather than the saffron one.
The Hindustan Times said: “It stayed like that for the earlier part of the Indian team training till someone noticed and quickly hoisted it again the right way.”
The newspaper described the incident as “a huge embarrassment” which happened “to everyone’s shock”.
According to Wikipedia‚ display and use of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India‚ the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act.
Insults to the national flag‚ including gross affronts or indignities to it‚ as well as using it in a manner that violates the provisions of the Flag Code‚ are punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years‚ or a fine‚ or both.
The code says the flag must never be depicted‚ displayed or flown upside down. Tradition also states that when draped vertically‚ the flag should not merely be rotated 90 degrees but also reversed.
Says Wikipedia: “One ‘reads’ a flag like the pages of a book‚ from top to bottom and from left to right‚ and after rotation the results should be the same.
“It is considered insulting to display the flag in a frayed or dirty state‚ and the same rule applies to the flagpoles and halyards used to hoist the flag‚ which should always be in a proper state of maintenance.”
Flag faux pas as Indian cricketers train at Newlands
The Tricolour — based on a Mahatma Gandhi design dating from 1920 — was flown on Wednesday alongside the flags of South Africa and Cricket South Africa while the Indian team was training in the nets ahead of Friday’s first Test against South Africa.
But in a faux pas punishable by a maximum of three years behind bars in India‚ it had the green stripe at the top‚ rather than the saffron one.
The Hindustan Times said: “It stayed like that for the earlier part of the Indian team training till someone noticed and quickly hoisted it again the right way.”
The newspaper described the incident as “a huge embarrassment” which happened “to everyone’s shock”.
According to Wikipedia‚ display and use of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India‚ the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act.
Insults to the national flag‚ including gross affronts or indignities to it‚ as well as using it in a manner that violates the provisions of the Flag Code‚ are punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years‚ or a fine‚ or both.
The code says the flag must never be depicted‚ displayed or flown upside down. Tradition also states that when draped vertically‚ the flag should not merely be rotated 90 degrees but also reversed.
Says Wikipedia: “One ‘reads’ a flag like the pages of a book‚ from top to bottom and from left to right‚ and after rotation the results should be the same.
“It is considered insulting to display the flag in a frayed or dirty state‚ and the same rule applies to the flagpoles and halyards used to hoist the flag‚ which should always be in a proper state of maintenance.”
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