Opinion: I love my country but here's why I disagree with SC's National Anthem order

Earlier in 2016, the entire nation was enthralled with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. This had become the most-talked about news item for some time, and several political figures even labelled the organisers of an event 'anti-national'. From the students’ arrest to their court trial, everything was under the microscope. And now, as the year 2016 draws to the close, a Supreme Court order pertaining to the national anthem, has made us ponder over the nationalism debate again.

Since childhood, we’ve been taught that some entities deserve more respect than others, like our elders, books, gods and the nation. Hailing from a Bengali family, I was told to touch the feet of uncles, aunts, grandfathers and grandmothers and take their blessing. I never complained as a child, but as I grew up, I did not have the same feeling of looking up to some of those elders, in fact in my teenage years in the angst of the rebellion boiling inside me, I even expressed that I do not like them. 

But on every social occasion where I met those people, it was expected of me to touch their feet. At times, when it absolutely could not be avoided, I obliged, under duress. Was it just a symbolic gesture or does it still count as a sign of respect? Is it still respect if its forced upon me?

We also undergo a similar kind of conditioning in school, where we are taught to stand when a teacher enters the classroom. It’s something that’s indoctrinated in us, and it became a habit that had been inculcated into us since childhood.  And things changed in college. One day a cool professor walked inside the classroom in college one day and we, all the students, stood up while talking to each other or checking our mobile phones without even paying any attention to the teacher. The professor stood there as we took our seats without saying a word, some looking for their copies, some busy checking WhatsApp, some fidgeting with their pens. And then he asked us why we stood up when he entered?

He reminded us that gesture is a sign of respect, which we clearly lacked when he walked in. We were left speechless. And the teacher taught us to do things out of respect, and not just because we are expected to do those. We all stood up again when he entered for his next class and thereafter, and none of us stood without feeling the immense respect and love for that professor/teacher.

The idea of just following a custom mechanically and meaning the sentiment or feeling attached to it are different and will always remain the same. I do respect my country, and no I'm not an anti-national for having an opinion.

There have been times when I walked inside some theatre in the middle of the national anthem with my hand full of popcorn or just gasping for breath after running to catch that show. And yes, I did not stand. I looked for my seat or just sat there getting ready for the movie that I went to watch in the first place.

At times people passed comments seeing me sitting while the national anthem was playing. I never paid any attention to those comments because I knew in my heart that I respect my country and the national anthem. And I like to believe that my regard for the country is substantially more than them, because I was at least not pretending to stand straight and noticing whether others are following the custom or not. Isn't talking and judging people and passing comments a bigger sign of disrespect?

When I heard the news that all movie theatres are henceforth directed to play the national anthem, I was silent for a moment but then I burst out laughing. Theatres and halls across the country screen a variety of movies. In fact, there are halls where women don't even dare to go. Who's going to see whether those people are standing up or not? And even if they do, will they do it out of respect? Or stand up with the fear of the court working at the back of their mind. 

I love my country, but isn't it time we ask ourselves how some order has become the parameter to measure our feelings and love and respect? I love my country, but I have seen others tagging a students' movement as 'anti-national' earlier this year. I love my country, but I have seen too much pain and suffering of the people. I love my country, but I do not think I need to prove it to anyone. I do not think that anybody or anything, be it a court directive or a group of people, can tell how I should exhibit that love.