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Enforced loyalty? Indian national anthem to be played in cinemas

Supreme Court order smacks of jingoism, critics say
Enforced loyalty? Indian national anthem to be played in cinemas

Indian schoolchildren salute as they stand to attention and sing the national anthem in Hyderabad. All cinemas must play the national anthem before screening movies and audiences should stand for it, India's highest court ruled on Nov. 30, drawing angry accusations of an assault on civil liberties. (Photo by AFP)

Published: December 09, 2016 07:55 AM GMT
Updated: December 09, 2016 07:55 AM GMT

The Supreme Court of India's ruling that all cinemas play the national anthem before every film, is a skewed type of nationalism that could easily be abused, critics say.

"Citizens of the country must realize that they are duty bound to show respect to the national anthem," the court said last week while delivering its ruling.

The 52-second-long anthem will play with an image of the national flag before every film. All present will be required to stand and the doors of the hall will be closed to prevent people coming and going.

The court gave states 10 days to implement the order, which it said will install a feeling of "committed patriotism and nationalism" among citizens. However, they did not specify any penalty for not standing for the duration.

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders welcomed the decision with Venkaiah Naidu, a senior minister, saying that the move would inculcate patriotism among the citizens, especially young people.

Father Savari Muthu, spokesperson of Delhi Archdiocese, said patriotism should not be forced on anyone. An individual will respect the national anthem if he has to.  "Every child learns the national anthem in school and you do not have to prove your credentials as a true Indian while going for some entertainment," he said. 

During the 1960s, movie theaters played the national anthem at the end of a screening but the practice was abandoned as people used to just leave without paying attention.

"How can a person prove their patriotism in just 52 seconds?" said Yashica Jalhotra, a Delhi-based journalist. If the anthem is played in other public places, it is understandable if people are asked to stand but a person has a different bent of mind when going to see a movie, she told ucanews.com.

According to the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act 1971, anyone who intentionally prevents the singing of the anthem or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing can be punished with up to three years in prison.

Kay Benedict, a Delhi-based journalist, feared that the move would lead to vigilantism.

"The implementation of the order will be a challenge and it might lead to unsavory incidents in movie theaters. The government and security agencies will have to be extra careful," he said.

In October, a man with a spinal injury was beaten up in a movie hall in Goa for not standing up while the national anthem was played, according to media reports

Patriotism should not be enforced on anyone, said Mohammad Junaid, the Muslim coordinator of interfaith forum, Minhaj-ul-Quran. "Patriotism is a feeling that comes from within and not something that is imposed on others," he said.

The BJP and Hindu groups are accused of portraying those who oppose their ideology as being "anti-national."

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