Don’t make national anthem mandatory in cinema halls, committee set to tell Govt

The 12-member panel, set up on December 5, 2017, was given six months time to come up with statutory requirements on playing the national anthem in cinema halls and public places.

The committee, sources said, is likely to suggest that the national anthem should be played before and after the President’s address to the nation on All India Radio, arrival of the Governor/ Lieutenant Governor at formal state functions, when the national flag is brought out on parade, when the regimental colours are presented, and during morning assembly in schools. Whether or not the national anthem should be sung while unfurling the national flag should be left to the good sense of the people.

The shorter version of the anthem (20 seconds), according to the committee, should be played before raising toasts in the officers’ mess. Also, when the national anthem is played by a band, it should be preceded by a roll of drums.

The panel, however, is still awaiting the state governments’ response. “We have written to the state governments and will apprise the Supreme Curt on the next date of hearing if there is any delay or difference of opinion,” said an official.

The panel, headed by Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Brij Raj Sharma, has met three times so far, and is likely to meet again next week before finalising its recommendations.

The other members in the committee are mostly joint secretary-level officers nominated by the Ministries of Defence, External Affairs, Women and Child Development, HRD, Culture, Parliamentary Affairs, Law, Minority Affairs, Information and Broadcasting and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

The Centre’s decision to set up the committee came after a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, in October last year observed that people “cannot be forced to carry patriotism on their sleeves” and it cannot be assumed that if a person does not stand up for the national anthem, he or she is “less patriotic”.

Besides framing guidelines on when the national anthem should be played or sung, the committee was mandated to recommend, if needed, “observance of proper decorum when national anthem is played or sung”, and to suggest any amendments, if required, in the Acts and orders related to The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

On January 9 this year, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra Tuesday modified the November 30, 2016 order which had made the playing of national anthem in cinema halls mandatory. The bench said it would be up to cinema hall owners whether or not to play the national anthem. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, made it clear, however, that movie-goers will have to show respect to the anthem in case it is played, and they will have to stand.

Following the Supreme Court’s order, the Union Home Ministry, in February, wrote to all the states and union territories, informing them about the ruling and reiterating that playing the national anthem in cinema halls was optional.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2016 order which made it mandatory for cinema halls to play the national anthem, a senior MHA official said, “It was not possible to enforce these guidelines. In case of disabled persons, law enforcement agencies were of the opinion that it would be difficult to identify the kind of disability, and what would happen if a person was suffering from mental disability.”