AUGUST 19, 2019 INDIA TODAY 49I
AM ATTEMPTING TO pen this piece on a day
when a lot that I believed in, as a citizen of India,
has been taken away. I thought the Constitution
is the one thing that gives us culture, records our
past and, at every turn, reimagines our present.
But on August 5, this tradition of respecting multiple cultures,
ideas, voices embodied in the spirit of our Constitution was torn
to bits. Dr B.R. Ambedkar had secured for us humanity, fairness
and ethics of living. But I fear we are witnessing the first step in a
series that will undo the dreams of India enshrined in that sacred
book, all those years ago. Our past has been far from clean and
many have repeatedly raised their voice at cardinal moments.
But what we are witnessing now is a drastically different kind of
politics—a blaring siren that has killed any semblance of music.
Culture was forfeited and patriotism twisted and mutilated. The
5th of August 2019 will be remembered as the day when we, as a
country, trampled upon the Kashmiris’ right to redefine their re-
lationship with the rest of India. We went back on our word and
in the darkness of the night unleashed our machinery to mute an
entire region. If this is Indian culture, then I reject it once and for
all. If I am considered patriotic only if I applaud this move, then
maybe I am not patriotic. But to many this was a patriotic act, a
brave decision that unites the country, undoes a wrong and will
make us stand together as one. But what is patriotism?
Over the past five-plus years, there has been a need to dif-
ferentiate between patriotism and jingoism. But with all the
rubbish that is thrown our way every day, do we really know or
even have the mind-space to seriously investigate this feeling?
A few years ago, as I was waiting in the green room getting
ready for my concert, the organiser informed me that since the
auditorium was owned by the state government, they insisted
on playing the national anthem before the concert began even
though this was not a government function. I refused to leave
the green room or get on stage until the anthem ended. Was I
unpatriotic not to participate in the celebration of the anthem?
What is the anthem itself? Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the former
governor of West Bengal, has often spoken of the word manas
in our anthem. This was Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s word
of hope. The word that symbolised the innate innocence within
everyone of us. Not the innocence of nativity, but the self that
is untainted by greed. The glimmer in a dewdrop that falls on
a leaf. He celebrated this possibility in every Indian and hoped
for a land where we held dewdrops in our palms in wonder. But
when this work of art, the national anthem, is thrust upon us as
a song of allegiance, that beautiful song turns into the trum-
peting of an authoritarian regime. I would also argue that, in
forcing its rendition before a celebration of a musical tradition,the symbol aesthetically distorted culture, art,
melody, rhythm and the profundity of the aes-
thetic experience.
If we were to listen to every song that was
sung, each poem that was recited, all the prose
that was published, the tunes that were hummed
or slogans that were chanted during the free-
dom struggle, we would know how they spoke
of justice, equality, fairness, democracy, rights
and freedom. We sought the emancipation of the
body and the mind. The British were the obvi-
ous oppressors, but the words were not limited
to pointing to their evilness. The cry for freedom
was as much about the people within, an appeal
for self-reflection, a movement for us to arise
from social slumber.
When Subramania Bharati asks, When will
our thirst for freedom be quenched? When will
our love for thraldom cease?, he is speaking of
the conditions under British rule, but he is also
speaking beyond his time, raising questions about
the human condition. He is speaking for the last
person standing and demanding change from the
privileged. Whether it was Bharati or Dwijendra-
lal Roy, they spoke of people, to people and for
people. We fought the British tooth and nail not
because they were outsiders but because of injus-
tice. Patriotism in its essence is not obedience or
faithfulness; it is the celebration of questioning
and free will. When D.K. Pattammal sang with
patriotic fervour, she hoped to nudge Indians to
express themselves fearlessly, to stand up for oth-
ers. Protected within those words and melodies
were the rights of every individual. Patriotic songs
were not composed to capture power, they wereWHEN PEOPLEARE
TODAY CALLEDANTI-
HINDU ANDANTI-
INDIAN, THE ACCUSER
IS COLLAPSING SOCIO-
RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
AND FAITHFULNESS
TO THE NATION-
STATE, NARROWING
OUR INDIAN-NESS TO
SPECIFIC COLOURS,
SYMBOLS AND RITUALSIllustration by NILANJAN DAS