Vande Mataram
Vir Sanghvi writes in Hindustan Times on the controversy surrounding the singing of the national song Vande Mataram. I agree with every point he has raised. It is unfortunate that the question of singing a song has snowballed into an issue of patriotism and religion. The level to which politicians will stoop to garner a few brownie points with disenchanted elements of society is pathetic. In the end, a song is neither a test for forced patriotism nor is it an important enough issue to deliver a religious decree against it. As Vir Sanghvi rightly points out there are more important issues such as access to good education and proper health care that need to be dealt with first.
I’ll let the man do the rest of the talking. You can read the very well-written article here.
I beg to disagree. The song has not snowballed into but was always was a mark of patriotism. Devoid of patriotism, the song is nothing but highly exaggerated or overstated form of obeisance.
Now the Government has admitted that there was no occasion, and hence no particular reason to ask schools or anyone to sing that song on a particular day. What a fiasco …
And among other important issues, let us not forget the pathetic conditions of farmers in Andhra Pradesh driven to suicides.
I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. The issue of whether to sing the song or not did indeed snowball into a so called ‘test’ of patriotism with the political right inisiting that anyone not singing the song is not an Indian and some Muslim leaders invoking religion to issue edicts forbidding Muslims to sing the song. And these are also the points on which I disagree. Will I not be an Indian if I refuse to sing Vande Mataram or do not stand when the national anthem is being played? It is my decision to do either and no one can force me to do either one of them. It is the feeling and respect that you hold in your heart that is more important, not the external display of the same. And why should religious leaders issue edicts when it comes to singing a song, which as you correctly pointed out is just a symbol?
Yes, there are many many important issues that need greater attention in India, the suicides of farmers in AP and other states being one important case in point. But in the post I was referencing Vir Sanghvi’s argument that Muslim leaders should focus more on issues like lack of proper access to education among many Muslim communities instead of issuing pointless edicts on whether or not to sing a song.