During days of National importance, like the Independence Day and the Republic Day, our National Anthem is regularly featured on Television. Does every India stand up to respect it every time it is played? Do those who don't stand up show disrespect to it in the process? There was a debate on this in another forum, where I cited my own example in order to initiate a larger debate on this.
I have been playing a lot of patriotic songs these days before going to sleep. I therefore hear all these songs, lying down. These include Lata Mangeshkar's rendition of our National song "Vande Mataram" from the Hindi Film Anand Math, which is an immortalized classic, other wonderful scores like Rafi's "Jahan Daal Daal", Mukesh's "Chodon Kal ki Baatein kal ki baat puranee", Mahendra Kapoor numbers, and several versions of the National Anthem sung by our Country's foremost singers from A.R. Rahman's Musical Album. Like me, there would be other fellow countrymen who would not rise during the Nation Anthem's rendition, when confined to their homes. A couple of members from that Forum found this objectionable and unacceptable. The question for the larger debate would therefore be: Is there a need to stand up to respect the national Anthem during its rendition, as we do publicly, privately too? I would choose to take a highly liberalized approach on this, for reasons that I shall illustrate herein. For ages and ages, our Nation went through periods of monarchy, autocracy and Colonial rule. These were times when citizens lived with curtailed rights, with curtailed freedom, like birds in a cage, like people bonded in chains. Life then was like living by a manual of instructions written by Rulers who had scant respect for ideals like humanism, democracy and Freedom. India has grown from those days. We are today the free citizens of an Independent, progressive and a liberal Republic; and unlike other regressive Nations like Saudi Arabia, democracy is a living process in our Country. Therefore, when we talk of being a Free Nation, we need to be a lot liberal while dealing with issues like the one we are currently discussing. My behavior within the four boundaries of my house should not come under the purview of civil society. Society can and should never encroach into my private space. This, I believe, must be the benchmark of a true and vibrant democracy. When I play our National song, our National Anthem and other patriotic songs while lying down, it is not with any deliberate or malicious intent to show disrespect. On the contrary, playing these songs gives me a great feeling of National pride and patriotic fervor. They remind me of our Freedom fighters who gave up their lives to give us our Freedom, they remind me how great our Country and our civilization is. Therefore what may be morally wrong to someone else may be morally right to me and vice versa. However, in the Public sphere we need to live and abide by certain laws, rules and regulations, framed by our State. The "Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act" is one such Act that explicitly deals with one's conduct in Public space. In this Act, citizens cannot insult National symbols like our Flag, Constitution and National Anthem. This Act makes it explicitly clear that it relates to an offence or a nuisance created in Public places. The Public Place is defined by this Act as meaning "any place intended for use by, or accessible to, the public and includes any public conveyance." As such, in my opinion, sitting or lying down in the house when the National Anthem is being played therefore does not in any way amount to showing disrespect, neither legally nor morally. I would love to hear other opinions on this. Cheers Sandeep
