Why we must stand for the national anthem in movie halls

As a kid, the law never forced me to stand up when my teacher entered the classroom. The law doesn’t force us to bow our head when we greet people. It does not force us to touch our elders’ feet to show respect.

I still see my cousins, friends and colleagues normally rise when a lady or an elder enters a room. There is no imposition on them to do so.

The law does not force us to breathe or bathe or love or laugh. But we all do it, regardless.

Respect flows naturally and it’s a noble feeling, irrespective of whether it is an emotional expression or a biological need.

This analogy might not apply perfectly to the topic at hand, but the point is we do a lot of things, happily, that are not imposed on us.

Showing respect to the national anthem is one of those.

No one can, or should, force you to stand up, but you have to be exceptionally arrogant and ungrateful to deliberately not rise during the anthem.

Despite some people’s dislike for national symbols, it is simple good manners to honour your country. It might also express one’s tolerance.

Yes, India is a free democracy and people have a right to exercise their choice. People wish to defy national symbols by citing ‘democracy’ while forgetting that it is precisely these emblems that define the very democracy they swear by and hide behind.

If we believe democracy gives us the right to show disrespect to the nation, surely something is amiss.

Yes, indeed, the court order as it stands today makes it mandatory to stand up while the anthem is being played in a cinema hall (on January 9, 2018, the Supreme Court will most likely overturn its own order of November 2016 which made playing of the national anthem at cinemas compulsory). It would be a graceless show of insolence not to rise when your nation’s anthem is being played and everyone else around you is standing at attention.

It’s just 52-seconds-long, for god’s sake! Often one stands for longer at the security checkpoint while entering a multiplex.

It’s not about whether the act of not standing up during the anthem is ‘anti-national’ or not. It’s the mindset that prevents someone from showing respect to the nation that is deplorable. Unless you are physically infirm or unwell or a senior citizen, rising while the anthem is being played should be a matter of pride.

Surely, it takes extraordinary shamelessness to show such lack of grace. It can be argued that those who will not stand up during the national anthem cannot be expected to stand up for the nation either.

As a child, I remember that Indian cinemas played the national anthem after the film ended, but the practice was discontinued, around 1975, because many people would just walk away disrespecting the anthem. To bypass this ‘problem’, in 2003 the practice was restarted in Maharashtra with the anthem playing at the beginning of the film show.

Whether the law makes it compulsory or not is beside the point. I have seen foreigners happily rise when the Indian national anthem is played, especially at cinema halls and sports arenas.

It’s not just about the law, it’s about the sentiment. A simple act — like merely standing up when the national anthem is being played — shows respect for the motherland and for the thousands of martyrs who laid their lives for the very freedom and democracy some naysayers use as a shield to exercise their ‘personal choice’.

Article 51A of the Indian Constitution that speaks about Indians’ fundamental duties, begins thus: ‘It shall be the duty of every citizen of India (a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem…..’

But then our rights are more important, duties be damned.

The only thing that can be said against playing the anthem in cinema halls is that it gives some mischief-mongers a chance to insult the nation by hiding behind words like ‘imposition’. For those who oppose standing up for the anthem, their right to choose not to rise is more important than respect for the nation.

Another argument put forth is that people go to a movie hall to entertain themselves and not to forcibly sing the anthem. Indeed, how can the national anthem be allowed to interfere with one’s entertainment?

A cinema theatre is not the right place to play the solemn anthem, they counter. But no one explains what’s wrong with cinema halls? Why are these public places not appropriate for the anthem?

The most vociferous resistance to rising during the anthem (when it is played in a movie hall) is always couched in assertions like ‘standing up for the anthem is not a measure of one’s patriotism’, ‘we do not need a certificate from others to prove our patriotism’, ‘the love for the nation comes from within’, etc.: thus, it should not be compulsory to play (or rise for) the anthem in cinemas. Maybe, some people believe they can display their patriotism by not standing up during the anthem.

If they are truly patriotic why would standing for 52 seconds for the anthem be considered an ‘imposition’?

Some philosophise, instead of showing one’s patriotism by standing up during the anthem people should show their love for the nation by not littering, etc. Noble thought, indeed, but why does one need to choose one of the two, why not both?

Strangely, the national anthem which is supposed to unify us – apart from making us fill up with pride, reminding us of our heritage and freedom struggle, giving us a sense of direction and promoting patriotism – seems to be dividing us.