The

State flag In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state, or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division). Government flag A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occasi ...

of Jammu and Kashmir was a symbol used in the former Indian

state of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019, constituting the southern and southeastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and ...

between 1952 and 2019, under the special status accorded to the region by

Article 370 Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pa ...

of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

. It was a red-and-white flag with a representation of a plough and three constituent regions of the state. After the abolition of Article 370 in August 2019, this flag lost its official status.

History

Origins

Article 144 of the

Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was the legal Constitution which established the framework for the state government of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The constitution was adopted on 17 November 1956, and came into effect on 26 J ...

, stated that the flag of the state shall be rectangular 3:2 format. Its colour is red, which originally came to symbolise workers and labourers. In the middle, a white plough further symbolises the peasants. Next to the staff, three vertical white stripes represent the three regions of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

, Kashmir and

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

. The flag had its origin in events that took place on 13 July 1931 in Srinagar. On the day, Kashmiri Muslims were protesting outside the Srinagar Central Jail premises at Srinagar where Abdul Qadeer was arrested on the charge of terrorism and inciting public against the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir by Dogra state forces. The blood-tainted shirt of one of the victims was then hoisted by the crowd as the new flag of Kashmir. On 11 July 1939, the older version flag was adopted by the

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

, a political party. On 7 June 1952, a resolution was passed by the

Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was a body of representatives elected in 1951 to formulate the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved on 26 January 1957, based on Mir Qasim resolution it adopted and r ...

, making it the official state flag.

2015 controversy

The

, in force until August 2019, made it mandatory to hoist the state flag alongside the Flag of India. In 2015, the newly elected

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

members in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly refused to hoist the state flag in their offices. BJP Ministers did not hoist the state flag either, as they consider that it is of no importance. The government led by

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed then issued a circular making it compulsory to hoist the state flag along with the national flag, stating that "The state flag has the same sanctity and position as the national flag has under the Indian Constitution and other statutory provisions." However, within 20 hours, the state government withdrew this circular. On withdrawal of the circular, the Jammu & Kashmir BJP spokesperson said, ""Our leaders cannot have any other flag on their vehicles besides the

Tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

. We welcome the withdrawal of the circular." In December 2015, the

Jammu and Kashmir High Court The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is the common high court for union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. It was established as the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 26 March 1928 by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The s ...

ordered the government of the state to hoist the state flag along with the national flag on official buildings and vehicles of constitutional authorities. However, this decision was contested by the

and in January 2016 Jammu and Kashmir High Court stayed their decision. Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir

Nirmal Kumar Singh Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh is an Indian politician and was the last Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State. He is a former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He is a leader of Bharatiya ...

said that no flag could be hoisted at an equal level of the national flag of India. Other parties alleged that the BJP is trying to impose its nationalist agenda on a state with special status. Despite the stance of the BJP, ministers of its coalition partner PDP continue to use the state flag alongside the national flag in official meetings. The youth wing of the National Conference also launched a campaign encouraging people to use the state flag as the profile image on their social media accounts saying that "the state flag of Jammu and Kashmir doesn't undermine or take away the protocol or status of the national flag and is clearly provided for in our constitution."

Abolition

The flag lost its official status on 6 August 2019 following the removal of the region's special status through the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India and was lowered for the last time on 25 August 2019. The state of Jammu and Kashmir was dissolved on 31 October 2019 and its territory was divided between two new union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and

Gallery

Historical flags of Jammu and Kashmir

File:Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg, 1936-1952 File:Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1952-2019).svg, 1952-2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:State flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1952-2019) Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir (state) Jammu and Kashmir 1952 establishments in India