The inter-ministerial committee, assigned to draw up guidelines on the circumstances and occasions when the national anthem is to be played or sung, will likely suggest to the government that cinema halls shouldn’t play the national anthem.

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Over the past couple of years, the playing of the national anthem in movie theatres attracted criticism because of the occasional acts of violence that it unfortunately triggered. Some citizens began roughing up fellow movie-goers over the latter’s failure to demonstrate “respect” while the anthem was being played.

The protection of national honour was in part inspired by the 2016 Supreme Court interim order that made the playing of the anthem mandatory before every movie in every cinema hall in the Republic of India. The apex court wanted to “instil a sense of committed patriotism and nationalism”.

In January 2018, the highest court of the land, following the central government’s affidavit in favour of modification of the 2016 order, changed the “mandatory” into “optional”. In view of this, the inter-ministerial committee’s recommendation shouldn’t come as a surprise. To put things in perspective, cinema halls are hardly the venue for instilling national pride.

For a film-crazy nation, theatres offer a much-needed escape from reality through two-and-a-half hours of entertainment. Playing the anthem just before the commencement of a movie, though inspired by a noble vision, doesn’t actually serve the cause of patriotism.

There is also the fear that too much of the national anthem can dilute the sublime feelings and sentiments it evokes. It must be borne in mind that only special occasions are deserving of Jana Gana Mana... So is the case with the Tricolour. What’s indeed unfortunate is the way the public discourse over the use of national anthem shaped up. There should be unquestionable respect for the national anthem. The love for the motherland transcends all other emotions.

It is the glue that keeps the nation together. It is the national anthem that steers the country onto the path of prosperity for all its citizens. It’s worth recalling what Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Laureate who composed the national anthem, had to say about such extreme posturing way back in 1908.

“Patriotism can’t be our final spiritual shelter. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live,” wrote the bard in a letter, which bore his apprehension and anguish. To encourage a definition of nationalism in narrow terms is to discourage the plurality of thoughts and vision in a country as diverse as India. “It would be a sterile and dangerous world” as Tagore had repeatedly cautioned if the “freedom of the mind is curbed”.

In a democracy, it is incumbent upon the people to safeguard the sanctity of the national anthem. Voices that purport to diminish the overwhelming importance of the anthem in the life of a nation, shouldn’t be encouraged.