Sometimes I wonder if there is any country in the world, where the sense of patriotism could be higher than it is in India. I have never been abroad to get a first-hand experience. We see any action to sully what we consider to be symbols of nationality, sedition. A renowned artist spent the end of his life in exile; a novelist continues to be in a state of exile and literary establishments continue to turn a blind eye; a cartoonist was arrested for sedition, only to be released later and went to gain a lot of popularity on a reality TV show. Then there is of course, the recent case of Kashmiri students being suspended for cheering for Pakistan when India lost a cricket match against it.
Do these actions really call for such dire reactions? I know, people will scream at the top of their lungs, “Cricket is a religion in India!” If that be the case, then shouldn’t the people involved in spot/match fixing be tried for sedition? Why are politicians and businessmen allowed to run the cricket, or for that matter any sports body representing India in an international platform? Why do their acts of corruption go unpunished, be it BCCI, IOA, IABF, and the athletes continue to bear the consequences?
The diplomat conundrum
This is one of the weirdest case in point. The arrest of the Indian diplomat in the US sent Indians and the Indian government in a tizzy. Public statements, both official and unofficial seemed to be pouring from all quarters over the issue, condemning her arrest. The government even took extreme steps against the US diplomats in India. The Indian diplomat was indicted of misrepresentation and visa fraud. Even if we consider that the motive of the maid was to extract money out of the diplomat, or immigrate to the US, it doesn’t change the fact that the diplomat lied in the visa application, and as someone representing India in a foreign country knowingly demeaned India’s reputation.
Sahara
If we list the people who have made money exploiting an average Indian’s love for his country, Sahara would be on the top of the list. From running whole page advertisements in popular dailies, TV channels, paying ridiculous amounts of money for BCCI sponsorships to gathering masses for setting records in singing national anthem, it left no stone unturned to present itself as India’s alter ego. It however, continued to make money through dubious means from questionable sources and evaded regulators at every stage. If this wasn’t enough, it even claimed that the regulators were exploiting Sahara in its whole page advertisements that still continue to go to press. It gave public statements of justification rather than do what was asked of it by the Supreme Court. Is this not anarchy in the veil of patriotism?
A lot of you may be wondering if I am patriotic enough or patriotic at all. What qualifies as patriotism really? Any action that one does to make the life of fellow citizens easier is patriotism. It could be anything from vacating a seat in the bus for an elderly to doing your job as a public servant, scientist, doctor, engineer, watchman, taxi driver or a janitor with complete honesty.
…where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, Into that heaven of freedom, my Father let my country awake.
– Rabindranath Tagore