Nothing wrong in states having its own flag: Shashi Tharoor

Agencies
July 24, 2017

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said there is nothing wrong in a state having its own flag and argued that the regional identity of a state would never come in the way of the nation's integration.ShashiTharoor

Tharoor, however, said his observations on the flag issue that has kicked up a row in Karnataka politics, were personal and his party hadn't yet taken an official stand on the matter. "I see no problem in a state having its own flag as long as the rules are complied with. Having a state flag is not anti-national as some people are trying to project it," he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference organized by the state government at Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK) campus, University of Agricultural Sciences.

Tharoor, who took part in a keynote discussion, affirmed both at the session and later at a press conference that the idea of India is one that celebrates pluralism and that divisive ideology has no place in society that's known for its diversity. Referring to the growing resentment against imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi states, he said the Centre is trying to impose an idea that Hindi is the language of the majority , but it's a wrong notion.

"A Hindi-speaking person in Uttar Pradesh can cherish an idea that he represents the majority, but in reality he doesn't. In India, there are 23 scheduled languages and 22,000 dialects. India is a country where the linguistic minorities are the majority," he said, adding that even Hindu religion doesn't represent the majority because of the caste system.

"As far as Hindi is concerned, Bollywood has brought that language to our TV sets and its relevance ends at that.When it comes to official communication, governments must deal with people in their own languages. If they adopt Hindi, then they can speak to a Sharma but can never speak to a Subramanyam or a Siddaramaiah," he added, indicating there are no takers for Hindi in southern states.While stating that the Centre should never impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states, Tharoor averred that English, as a common language, is use ful to a certain extent, but Hindi can never become the common language of India.

Responding to a query about the BJP government's motto of `one-nation-one-culture' in the context of the flag controversy , he said: "India is already a `one-nation-two-flag' country, with Jammu and Kashmir having its own flag.Every state should be allowed to design its own flag and there should be no objection to that, provided the state flag is subordinate to the national flag."

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 31,2020

Udupi, May 31: As many as 10 people have been tested positive for coronavirus in Udupi district today. 

The district has registered a total of 187 positive cases so far. Majority of the positive cases in Udupi district have inter-state travel history to Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, 14 people including three children who recovered from COVID -19 discharged from Government Hospital in Kundapura, in Udupi district.

Kundapura AC Raju, DHO Dr Sudhirchandra Sooda, taluk medical officer Dr Nagabhushan Udupa handed over a rose to all the discharged. With this, a total of 64 persons have been recovered and discharged in the district.

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News Network
February 6,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6: The Kerala government on Wednesday said three foreign nationals were among the 2,528 people under observation in the state for the novel coronavirus infection and no new cases have been reported.

At least 93 people with minor symptoms of the virus have been lodged in isolation wards of various hospitals, state Health Minister KK Shailaja told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

India's three positive cases for the virus has been from the state's three districts of Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kasaragod.

All the three are students of China's Wuhan university, the epicentre of the virus.

"No new cases of coronavirus has been detected in the state today. At least 2,435 are under observation at home while 93 are in isolation wards at various hospital across the state," Mr Shailaja said.

The minister also said two foreigners have been quarantined in Ernakulam district and one foreign national at Thiruvananthapuram.

"The foreigner in Thiruvananthapuram has been kept at general hospital but not because he was showing symptoms but for observation as he travelled from China," an official said.

The health status of the three patients, who had tested positive for the virus, "remains satisfactory", the minister said.

After three cases were reported, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had declared the epidemic as a "state calamity" on Monday.

The health department has issued advisories to the education, tourism and the animal husbandry departments on taking precautions.

"The students, teachers, other staff members residing with families of Wuhan/China returnees who are already in home isolation should not attend classes...," an advisory issued to the education department read.

Rajan Khobragade, Principal Secretary (Health), said the health department has directed the District collectors to hold a meeting with the religious leaders of the district to create awareness during prayer meetings.

"We have directed district collectors to meet religious leaders and talk to them about the seriousness of the situation and create awareness among them and their followers on how to contain the spread of virus," the minister said.

Mr Shailaja also said the department got messages from some Kerala students studying in China, who returned to the state after the virus outbreak, that their Universities had asked them to return and attend classes.

"We have got some messages from the students that they were being recalled by the universities in China. We discussed the matter and it was decided that the centre will contact such universities and convey the message that it was not possible to send the students back to China until the epidemic was under control," the minister said.

Mr Shailaja also said even though there were no positive cases for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the state needs to remain vigilant and reiterated the 28 days quarantine period for those returning from China.

Of the 2,528 people under observation, the maximum number is from Malappuram (383), followed by Ernakulam (333), Kozhikode (306) and Thrissur (241).

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News Network
March 24,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 24: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had earlier announced that Indira canteen will supply free meals to the poor and BPL card holders, on Tuesday announced that Indira Canteens will be remain closed as there is fear of spread of the coronavirus as people assemble in large number.

On Monday, he had announced that Indira Canteens would provide food free of cost for the benefit of daily wage workers and poor people in the wake of a complete lockdown.

Asked about the alternative the government would provide, he said, "Closure of canteens is needed to avoid the rush near the canteen as it may lead to problems.

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