India was partitioned to appease the Muslims. The Union Jack is a combination of the flags of Britain, Scotland and Ireland. The flags symbolize the respective countries representing all the ethnic groups within the geographical boundaries of the three respective countries. The Union Jack also has a religious connotation. This shatters the myth of a secular state.
Some liberals try to highlight secularism quoting western countries as examples.
Regrettably the Burghers and the Malays who form a part of the population are forgotten. The present placement of the stripes, it appears, exudes a feeling of exclusion. The violent politics in Sri Lanka first began in Jaffna in 1931 with the boycott of the Donoughmore Reforms. The boycott was planned with the ulterior view of precipitating a constitutional deadlock. Now the issue of the National Flag is raised as yet another step.