To Sing or Not to Sing: “Tolerant & Liberal” Rajiv Gandhi’s Response to National Anthem Controversy

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.

Lessons from BJP’s Bihar Election Fiasco

Sandwiched!

Reams have already been written on the drubbing received by BJP in the crucial Bihar assembly election. Let me attempt to add my own two cents' worth to the series of postmortem reports that have been released since November 8.

Countdown to Debacle

Team Modi’s explanation for their drubbing in Bihar is that the caste arithmetic went against the BJP. But that could happen only because of the party's own acts of omission and commission.

The writing was writ large on the wall from the word go, but Team Modi refused to pay heed to it in a timely manner.