First published at: http://swarajyamag.com, on December 7, 2015: http://swarajyamag.com/politics/left-libs-didnt-protest-much-when-rajiv-gandhi-wanted-to-make-singing-the-national-anthem-compulsory/
There are not many countries in the
world that allow their national anthem to become a tool for divisive
politics. But in India any and every issue gets to be used for partisan
political agendas. Our national anthem has been no exception.
The latest controversy over the
national anthem erupted on 29 November, 2015, when five members of a family
were asked to leave a cinema hall in Mumbai because they rudely rebuffed fellow
cine viewers who asked them to stand up as the national anthem was being played
before the start of the movie.
A video clip of the event went viral
on social media and consequently provoked heated debate in mainstream media,
including prime time television, because the concerned family happened to be
Muslim. Had the same incident involved a Hindu family, it is not likely to have
excited such passion on either side of the political divide.
