http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/patriotism-for-dummies-again/articleshow/56820823.cms
Some months ago, both social and print media became galvanized by my report in these pages about the shocking assault on poet and disability activist Salil Chaturvedi at the Panaji multiplex. The gentle Chorao resident has a spinal injury, and needs to be lifted from his wheelchair into a seat. On the day he went to watch Rajnikanth's latest, he was beaten and abused by an officious young couple, because he could not stand during the national anthem. Chaturvedi was left badly shaken, and scared to go back to the movies. News of the cowardly attack spread worldwide, a perfect example of patriotism gone mad. On her show, Barkha Dutt pointed out Chaturvedi is the brother and son of military servicemen, and represented the country at the Australian Open. The victim himself said, "I just don't understand why it seems impossible for so many people to express patriotism in a non-aggressive manner...even if I could stand up during the national anthem, I would rather not, simply because I am being forced to do so. Is this why we fought the colonialists? Did we get our freedom only to become sheep, and that too led by the most sinister, manipulative brutes among us? I will not participate in this sham." In the incident's aftermath, it became apparent there wasn't any legal requirement for playing the anthem before movies. The practice prevailed when the Indian army fought to liberate Bangladesh, but was abandoned in 1975. The only state with a relevant law was Maharashtra. Amidst the fallout of the Chaturvedi case, all that changed last November with an astonishingly narrow-minded (and probably unconstitutional) Supreme Court ruling that all movie theatres across the country must play the anthem, and all patrons stand "to instill committed patriotism and nationalism". It's obviously both preposterous and dangerous to try to legislate patriotism or nationalism. But, beyond farce, the Union home ministry then issued a ridiculous laundry list of minutiae to torment individuals with disabilities who venture to the movies. "Wheelchair users...shall position himself/herself to the extent of maximum attentiveness and alertness" and "if on crutch, he/she shall become stable (non-mobile) to the extent of maximum alertness". Also, "while the person with mild intellectual disability without associated conditions can be trained to understand and respect the National Anthem, the same may not hold good in other cases". Chaturvedi says, "It's quite apparent these guidelines have been penned by someone who is completely unsensitized to disability, hasn't spent time with a disabled person, and what's worse, might even be a little hostile towards disabled persons. In the disability movement we have a catchphrase: "nothing about us, without us". This means that disabled persons, or organizations representing us, should be consulted before deciding on things that affect us. The poorly worded order borders on absurdity and has a tinge of viciousness." Oscar Wilde warned "patriotism is the virtue of the vicious." And Chaturvedi points out, "At places the guidelines are downright offensive...they mention that people with epilepsy and psychiatric illness are exempt, because they may "flap" their hands, "scream or shout or make abnormal body movements". Really? Is this how the Ministry of Home Affairs imagines its citizens with epilepsy? And does this mean that such persons need to carry their medical records to prove they have the illness? It is disturbing to see this understanding of disabilities, and use of language, is coming from the bureaucracy of a nation that hopes to lead the world in the coming years." It is illustrative of the state of affairs in India that this legislation emerged because a disabled man was disgracefully battered, but the government targets him (and other disabled) instead of addressing the crime. Chaturvedi is rightly upset, "The guideline still doesn't take care of the original issue raised when I was assaulted. How will you keep disabled people safe from overzealous nationalists in the cinema hall? This guideline doesn't instruct cinema halls to display relevant slides discouraging people from taking the law in their own hands. During the incident, I was not on my wheelchair. I was carried to my seat, and during the national anthem I was hit even though I was at 'maximum alertness' and fully attentive. How does this guideline change anything for me?" Those are highly cogent points. Dickens wrote in 'Oliver Twist', sometimes "the law is an ass, an idiot." But what possible recourse is there when those entrusted with carrying out the law are even worse, to the point of inhumane brutality? Here it is relevant to note that Chaturvedi's assailants were caught on camera, and immediately recognized. The Panaji multiplex administration has known their identity for months, but didn't take action because the husband-wife duo are prominent law-enforcement officers posted to serve together in Goa. Just calculate the irony.