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Six years ago, K V Thamban, a music teacher of Chempilodu Higher Secondary School in Kannur was a guest at a function at Mahe with former Deputy Speaker of Pondicherry A V Sreedharan.
While concluding the event, students sang National Anthem in a wrong way. Deputy Speaker was quick to react and asked Thamban why could not he teach the students the tune, timing and the way it should be sung.
It was, in fact, a turning point in the life of Thamban. He started learning about National Honours, how to respect them and the actions through which they are insulted and misused by the public. Later, he took it up as a duty to create awareness among the public and started taking classes on how to respect national honours.
“People who disrespect or insult the Honours are hardly aware about the laws related to it. This could be changed only by making people aware of the provisions of Prevention of Insults to National Honours Act 1971,” he said.
Thamban says that people are always making serious mistakes in flying National Flag on the occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day. “By the National Flag Code of India 2002, flying national flags without an ISI authorisation calls for imprisonment up to three years and a fine up to `1 lakh or both. Educational Institutions should organise awareness classes to the public on respecting national honours on national days,” he said.
As of now, Thamban has taken more than 75 National Honours’ awareness classes in Kasargod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad districts and Mahe. His first class about National Honour was in Malabar TTI (Teachers Training Institute) and now he is taking sessions in schools, colleges and youth clubs with the help of projectors for effective teaching.
“Initially, I would teach students the raga of Sankarabharanam in Carnatic music and Bilawal in Hindusthani so that they can easily understand the tune of National Anthem, which has to be sung in 52 seconds with these ragas,” said Thamban, 51, who hails from Pilikotuvayal in Kasargod district and settled in Thottada of Kannur for last 28 years.
In 2008, Thamban conducted a survey in Kannur district participating 4000 students and 2000 elders including teachers with the questionnaire on national honours. Survey resulted that 82 per cent of them are ignorant about how to respect our national honours. “Answers given by the participants were atrocious. Even teachers hardly knew the basic things about national honours which every Indian citizen must know. Then I started taking classes from U P schools to college students regularly,” he added.
On this Independence Day, K V Thamban will lead a national honour awareness programme the conducted by the Chamber of Commerce in Kannur.
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