Sri Lankan tailors make national flags at a small shop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Jan. 29, 2020. Sri Lanka will celebrate its 72nd Independence Day on Feb. 4. (Photo by Gayan Sameera/Xinhua ...

A small school event held in the northern town of Vavuniya made national headlines in Sri Lanka this week, after a provincial Education Minister refused to hoist the national flag at the ceremony.