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Journalism of Courage
The Madras High Court on July 25 ordered that all schools and colleges in the state should sing Vande Mataram at least once in a week and government and private offices “at least once a month”. Ever since Justice M V Muralidharan issued the order, the Internet has been buzzing with people supporting as well as denouncing the order. “Considering the larger public interest and to instill a sense of patriotism in each and every citizen of the state, the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ shall be played and sung in all schools/ colleges/ universities and other educational institutions at least once a week (preferably on Monday or Friday),” said Muralidharan.
Check out some of the reactions the order generated on social media, here.
https://twitter.com/NitinKapoor2020/status/889742516643217411
https://twitter.com/Sagar4000/status/890027332580159489
https://twitter.com/Sagar4000/status/890028130655641602
https://twitter.com/Nadim_da_Sinner/status/889819158694682627
https://twitter.com/QuailHimalayan/status/889735870265217024
While many on Twitter took this as an opportunity to remind that nationalism and patriotism must not be forced, one of the Twitter users wrote “Nationalism is the last weapon of a scoundrel.” Many others supported the “fantastical decision” as well.
Last year in November, it was the Supreme Court’s order that the national anthem must be played before movies in the theatres that created a furore.
“To instill committed patriotism and nationalism”, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy ordered that “all the cinema halls in India shall play the national anthem before the feature film starts and all present in the hall are obliged to stand up to show respect to the national anthem” as a part of their “sacred obligation”.
What do you think of the Madras HC’s order? Let us know in the comments’ section below.
