In an apparent show of solidarity with France, CST was lit up in the colours of the French flag on Sunday. The only problem — instead of the vertical stripes, the colours were horizontal, which made it look like the Netherlands flag
Mumbai's iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on Sunday joined various other monuments across the world to be illuminated in the 'colours' of the French flag in solidarity with the victims of Paris terror attacks.
"Since the 26/11 attacks were of a similar nature and the CST station was also targeted then, the Central Railways has decided to stand by France in this moment of grief and express its support. The CST station will be illuminated with the French flag from between 7 pm and 11 pm," a spokesperson for Central Railways said.
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'Black Friday' saw multiple terror attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a stadium in Paris on November 13, in which 129 people were killed.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus illuminated in the colours of the 'French' flag in Mumbai on Sunday. Only it's not hte French, but Dutch flag. Pic/ATUL KAMBLE
The proverb "hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works" is just right for Indian Railways, Sine the due to similarity between the French and the Dutch flag, the railway authorities goofed up. They lit up CST in red, white and blue horizontally, which meant that it was the colours of the Dutch flag that were being displayed in solidarity with the 'Paris attacks'.
(JUST TO CLARIFY: The French 'tricolore' consists of three vertical bands of equal width, displaying the country's national colours: Blue, White, and Red. The blue band is positioned nearest the flag-staff, the white in the middle, and the red on the outside. The Dutch 'tricolour' flag is red, white, and blue, placed horizontally.)
The error by Mumbai Railway was doubly shocking and tragic since CST had been one of the sites of the 26/11 attacks and Sunday's gesture was a show of solidarity with the victims of 13/11 in Paris. Also the image being shared all over the world didn't do India any good.
The 'goof up' naturally led to several people taking to the various social media platforms to castigate the Mumbai Railway authorities and poke fun at them.
The Central Railway officials decided to respond to the Twitter users with a 'clarification'. The Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of CR, Narendra Patil tweeted that they were always talking about the 'French colors, not flag'. He even pointed to some other iconic monuments from around the world to corroborate their point.
Actually, the exact quote was "The CST station will be illuminated "with the French flag" from between 7 pm and 11 pm." It was not "colours of the French flag".
@abhility @India_MSM we said French colors , not flag, see these monuments also pic.twitter.com/S6CphmP3JL
— CPRO Central Railway (@Narendra_IRTS) November 15, 2015
It happens only in India Mumbai CST pays tribute to Paris with a Dutch flag pic.twitter.com/MrGU4q1CpZ
— dharini desai (@dharinidesai) November 16, 2015
Isn't it wrong lighting at Mumbai CST. France flag is vertical this is Dutch flag. #ParisAttacks pic.twitter.com/HMnSJ8E1BJ
— Divya Kr Gupta (@cooldivay) November 15, 2015
#Mumbai CST, if you do something, do it right. It's not French flag, you lighted it to DUTCH flag, morons! #Paris pic.twitter.com/fWq9stZtRm
— Harshal Chaudhari (@theCokeBouy) November 15, 2015
Oops! Wrong country! Mumbai's CST draped as a Dutch flag. French flag features vertical stripes. pic.twitter.com/oWQETXZUs5
— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) November 16, 2015
CST lighting up in Dutch falg colors instead of France is similar to cross dressing between genders #ParisAttacks
— Blunder Guy (@blunder_guy) November 16, 2015
CST decided to support the Dutch because of their horrible performance in the Euro qualifiers pic.twitter.com/tGelUsJKN9
— Jaydeep (@JonesOnCorners) November 16, 2015
What if Mumbai CST got the French flag slightly wrong and made it into the Dutch Flag. The French President is called Hollande after all.
— The Joker (@abhility) November 15, 2015
Mumbai CST station lit up in the Dutch flag in solidarity with #ParisAttacks . As they say in India 'thoda adjust karlo yaar'.
— IbneBattuta (@ibnebattuta) November 15, 2015
Luckily for CR, they did have some supporters on Twitter who defended them.
@amu25101986 pls stop trying to find fault in every little thing. The colors are correct. @Narendra_IRTS
— L (@EagleEyeIndia) November 15, 2015
@b50 @Narendra_IRTS @RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu and his tweet specifically says - 'in the colours'. Does not say it is the French flag
— Vetri Subramaniam (@VetriSmv) November 15, 2015
@amu25101986 pls stop trying to find fault in every little thing. The colors are correct. @Narendra_IRTS
— L (@EagleEyeIndia) November 15, 2015
@Narendra_IRTS @RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu @VetriSmv only thing it's Dutch colors.
— Anupam Gupta (@b50) November 15, 2015
World One colors itself into (rotated) French tricolor: "Wow, what a gesture!" CST does it: "Idiots are showing Dutch flag." Such cribbers!
— Hiren (@Laddoo7) November 15, 2015
People who r questioning the colors n saying Dutch colors n all, get a life guys. The intent of Mumbai CST lightings is clearly visible.
— Pankaj (@pankajcgupta) November 15, 2015
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