Indian flag and anthem

My mother had her cataract surgery in the first week of August at Rajan Eye Care. One week later, we were asked to come there for a review.

The date happened to be a Friday. August 15th to be precise. So there was a small celebration organised by the clinic, which included the hoisting of our national flag.

There were 3-4 foreign - read Caucasian - folks going around the place and they were being aided by a couple of people from the clinic. It was clear that they were not patients and seemed to be some kinda high profile visitors. The chief doctor, then introduced this group of visitors as being eminent physicians and social activists from Australia who had come to India on some kind of study program. They had also participated in a couple of free eye camps.

After the round of introductions were completed, Dr.Rajan then asked one of these Australian folks to unfurl the Indian flag. He did that and then everyone sang the National Anthem in the most nonchalant manner possible. It was not that the people singing were the patients at the hospital. It was very much the doctors, para-medical staff, office attendants and people accompanying the patients who were witnessing this flag hoisting ceremony. Yet, the collective decibel recorded would have been lower than that of a ringing cycle bell. For crying out loud, the ghastly "naaka mooka" song comes out louder on mute!

I can understand a whole bunch of grown-up people not wanting to sing in public. But we are not in a singing competition right? And aren't we duty bound as citizens to sing it? Could it be only shyness that stopped people from singing it or was it a case of people not knowing the national anthem properly? If it was the latter then we are looking at a much larger problem.

Anyways, my bigger concern or question was about the hoisting of the flag. I was somehow not at all comfortable with an Australian unfurling the Indian flag and that too on our Independence day. Why did the chief doctor pass up the opportunity of hoisting it himself? Or why didn't he give the honor to someone in his employment? He could have even asked one of the old people who were there to hoist the flag. But, he approached the foreigner to do the honors. And was he actually doing something honorable by getting a foreigner to unfurl the flag?

I tried looking up the Internet for some official word on whether foreign nationals can hoist our flag. I didn't get a concrete yes or no; or at least I need a professional opinion from someone practising the law, like Neelu, to interpret it for me.

P.S.: Turns out that 2 weeks back, one of my namesakes in this wide world, had the "exact same" doubt and he has asked it here.