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PR from India posting image of National flag ripped to shreds

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From ‘Police probe Facebook graphic of flag being ripped apart, 18 Aug 2018, article by Ankita Varma, ST

The police are investigating a Facebook post showing a black T-shirt with a graphic of the Singapore flag being ripped apart by a pair of hands to reveal the Indian flag underneath.

The image, which is believed to have first surfaced on Aug 14, one day ahead of India’s Independence Day, was widely shared online when it was posted onto the Singapore Indians and Expats page on Facebook by Singapore permanent resident Avijit Das Patnaik. The page has over 11,000 members.

Mr Patnaik, who has been living in Singapore for a decade, posted it alongside a caption in Hindi that said, “Phir bhi dil hai…”, which roughly translates to “Still my heart is…” and alludes to a popular Hindi song that talks about always feeling love for the motherland, India.

But he told The Straits Times that he did not design the image. He had first seen it posted on various individual accounts on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. Many netizens who saw the post deemed it offensive, with some complaining that the image is disrespectful to Singapore as it shows the Singapore flag being ripped to shreds.

The Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act states that no person shall treat the flag with disrespect. The penalty is a maximum fine of $1,000. The image has since been taken down.

The police confirmed that a police report has been lodged and that they are looking into the matter. DBS Bank, which is Mr Patnaik’s employer, also commented in a Facebook post that it is looking into the matter. When contacted, Mr Patnaik apologised and said that he did not mean to cause offence.

“I did not design the image and had already seen it being circulated widely… which is why I assumed it was okay for me to post the image. ” he said.

“I love Singapore deeply and am always singing praises about this country, so my intention was never to cause so much grievance. I just felt that the image represented that deep inside, the heart also beats for our motherland,” he added.

The hounds of Xenophobia have pounced, just like how angry Singaporeans reacted to public celebration of Philipine Independence Day.  Tact certainly isn’t Patnaik’s strong suit, considering that we just celebrated National Day not too long ago. Not sure if he also used the flag as a tablecloth for the festivities like some Israeli diplomat. It doesn’t help that the same angry people know who the CEO of DBS is.

While we can’t fault our foreigners for having a soft spot for their country of birth, the shirt looked like it was designed by someone with a destructive streak and a pathological Clark Kent complex. The use of the emotive word ‘motherland’ in his defence would naturally have irate locals telling the offender to GTFO and suckle on his country’s teats instead.

Meanwhile, there are Singaporeans and soon to be ex-Singaporeans out there who love the country but can’t return from exile because they stirred shit with LKY’s government. They live their lives in their tiny foreign enclaves while in Singapore we endorse ethnically divisive online ones like a FB group for expats where enforcement of anti-SG sentiment let alone nationalistic subversion and extremism is almost non-existent.

Patnaik may soon change his opinion about our praiseworthy Singaporean hospitality. If you prick us we do not bleed, but we will strike down on thee with great vengeance and furious anger. His future as a naturalised Singaporean citizen looks bleak, unless the government is prepared for riots on the streets where it’s not only flags that are ripped to shreds.

Unless. I have a suggestion to placate the SG hate brigade. In the spirit of Indian Independence Day, do the right thing: Free chappatis for everyone.


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