India, Nov. 21 -- The United States Coast Guard seemed to reverse course on an earlier policy on "hate symbols" like the Swastika and the noose following backlash over reports that it had adopted a softer stance on them.

According to a report in The Washington Post, the Coast Guard allegedly wrote a policy earlier this month which called the above symbols "potentially divisive". This was a shift from the earlier policy which said swastikas and nooses were "widely identified with oppression or hatred", the Associated Press reported.

The policy had also reportedly stopped short of banning these symbols, while saying that commanders could take steps to remove them from public view. It added that the rule did not apply to private spaces lik...