dna edit: Delinquent sons of motherland

The irony is unmistakable. Meira Kumar, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, has found a BSP MP’s behaviour infuriating because he walked out of the house when the national song Vande Mataram was being played on Thursday. It’s a trivial incident in a house where members clash every other day in the most unparliamentary fashion.

Shafiqur Rahman Barq didn’t show disrespect to the nation. The national song and the national anthem cannot be equated as the latter enjoys a special status in the Constitution. Moreover, Vande Mataram has been the source of controversy long before Independence. Its religious overtones, comparing the motherland with Durga and Lakshmi, offended the sensibilities of Muslims who believe in only one god.

It had led the Congress committee under Nehru to adopt a resolution in 1937 to delete the last two paragraphs. Even then, Muslims felt uncomfortable because the mother land or Bharat Mata was elevated to the stature of a Hindu goddess. There is a temple in her name in Hardwar, and another in Benares. If India is truly secular, then walking out of a performance of a devotional song cannot be construed as an insult to the nation.

Barq’s controversy also questions the practise of showing ‘respect’ to the national anthem and national song by standing motionless till the performance is over, or lending a voice to the chorus.

Nowhere in the Constitution it is mentioned that one has to partake in this display of pride and respect. Yet, in some movie theatres and public functions, one is expected to adhere to an established code of conduct. It is a way of the majority to make an individual toe the line. That is clearly against the principles of democracy, which encourages the contrarian view. An individual’s freedom cannot be sacrificed at the altar of jingoistic national pride. If we love our country, then let’s stand up against this herd mentality.