National flag to flutter on every house on Constitution Day

By Prakash Silwal

KATHMANDU, Aug 28: The national flag will flutter on every house and everyone’s hand in celebration of the upcoming Constitution Day and National Day. This is being done with an aim to raise awareness among the new generation about the nation, nationality, the democratic movement and the constitution.

Special significance has been given to the national standard to make the national day of celebration unique. The Day commemorates the day on which the federal democratic republican constitution was promulgated. The republican constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly was promulgated on September 20, 2015.

The constitution was made by the people’s representatives on the foundation of the long struggle, dedication and sacrifice of the Nepali people.

The government has made changes to the Work Procedure Related to the Use of National Flag and the National Anthem, 2069 and the related Guidelines, permitting to fly the national flag at private homes as well.

The Guidelines states that the national flag should be made of fabric or paper (not of plastic).

Provisions have also been made allowing the wearing of the national flag in a respectable manner in the form of T-shirt.

Nepal’s national flag, in the form of two joined triangles with the red background and blue border and the image of the radiating moon in the middle of the top triangle and the sun on the bottom triangle, is a unique flag in the world.

The Publicity sub-committee constituted under the Constitution Day and National Day Celebration Main Committee has stressed that the significance of the constitution would be highlighted on the occasion by keeping the national flag and the nationality at the center.

The sub-committee has also urged the media to produce and publicize special issues pertaining to the constitution.

Chairman of the 31-member sub-committee, Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Government Spokesperson Gokul Prasad Baskota said that novel suggestions for attractive publicity of the constitution would be acknowledged as the new generation born in 2006/2007 too needed to be well-informed about the constitution.

“The constitution has not come for nothing. Now on, there would not be another National Day even if the constitution is amended. The republic would not be overthrown no matter even if some elements might be working towards that end,” Minister Baskota said.

He urged for including the youth generation in the celebration of the National Day and to uphold the republican constitution.

Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Mahendra Man Gurung said the sub-committee has an important role to generate the feeling among all the Nepali that it is their day of celebration, as directed by Prime Minister and Chairman of the Celebration Main Committee, KP Sharma Oli, at the committee’s meeting on August 21.

The PM had directed the meeting to celebrate the Day in a grand manner.

The sub-committee will organize a special panel discussion focused on topics related to the constitution on September 19 and publicize it.

It has also allocated responsibilities for the publication of special issues related to the constitution by the national level newspapers, broadcast on all mass communication media highlighting the multi-dimensional aspects of the constitution and its importance.

Likewise, national broadcast media including Nepal Television and Radio Nepal will carry live the main program to be organized on September 20.

Radio Nepal will organize an ‘awareness song’ meet on September 21.

Similarly, Nepal Telecom will send out SMS to the masses and the national anthem would be played at the start of film screening at all the cinema houses across the country.

Suggestions like spreading awareness on the constitution among the general public without making the Day formal, preparing the publicity materials, identifying the burning issues related to the constitution, the traders offering special discount on various goods, setting up free health check-up camps and organizing massive publicity in schools, were given in the meeting.

The main slogan of the Day is: ‘Let Us Celebrate the Constitution and National Day with Gaiety – Let Us Flutter the National Flag at Every Home.’

Executive Chairman of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), Shyamal Adhikari and Acting Chairman of Press Council Nepal, Kishor Shrestha, suggested organizing quiz contest on the contents of the constitution at schools and preparing and distributing adequate publicity materials on the constitution for raising wider public awareness.

Vice president of the authorized trade union of civil servants, Bhola Pokharel said the National Day should be celebrated in a new way rather than in a ritualistic manner while the president of Private and Boarding Schools’ Organization of Nepal (PABSON) Tikaram Puri and president of N-PABSAN Rituraj Sapkota expressed their commitment to organize various activities publicizing the constitution and the national flag at the private schools.

The Constitution and National Day Celebration Main Committee has set three-day main program beginning September 19. According to this program, lamps would be lit and illumination organized at homes and offices September 19 through 21.

Similarly, the committee has planned various programs like waving the national flag, holding clean-up and sanitation programs with banner, the Nepal Army sounding the bugle at dawn on September 20, paying tributes to the martyrs, all the employees attending the main program carrying the national flag in their hands, organizing the cultural pageants, holding sapling plantation in all districts and organizing blood donation camps.

Letters have been sent to celebrate the Day at the federal, provincial and local level.