This young guy, just another regular chap, Salman M, 25, was arrested in Thiruvananthapuram last week. He was charged under section 124 A of the IPC (sedition) for allegedly "sitting and hooting" when the anthem was played at the theater and he and his friends were watching a movie.
What would make him do this? Was he looking for a fight or just plain starkers? He seems like a decent, clean-cut educated chap who would know better. It makes no sense to be an imbecile. You don’t want to stand, fine, don’t make rude sounds. A Thiruvananthapuram court has denied the young man bail. He can face life imprisonment, if the charges against him are proved on the basis of sedition.
Ergo, the man is incredibly stupid and his conduct calls for a bit of a smacking besides being treated with contempt but life imprisonment is absurd. And this juvenile foolishness is hardly sedition. Worst, a severe case of bad taste and worthy of profound disapproval.
Why would he do it? No reasonable argument can be put forward. Was it his jinx, a bunch of buddies being idiots, just a sort of party mood that got out of hand … maybe someone dared him to misbehave.
On the legal issues, he has a loophole that will probably get him out of this fix.
“Salman has also been accused under section 66A of India's Information Technology Act for allegedly publishing abusive social media posts about the Independence Day on Aug. 15. The group's refusal to stand up led to protests from a section of the audience. A heated argument followed, and a few people filed a complaint with the police.”
But the Indian Patriotic Act gives leeway.
"Whenever the anthem is sung or played; the audience shall stand to attention. However, when in the course of a newsreel or documentary, the anthem is played as a part of the film, it is not expected of the audience to stand as standing is bound to interrupt the exhibition of the film.”
Nor, for that matter, do we stand at home if it is playing on the TV or radio. "A criminal charge for such conduct, even if some might regard it as offensive, is completely unwarranted. Nobody should have to go to prison merely because they are accused of causing offense," stated Shailesh Rai, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India.
However, this is a question of where one’s freedom ends and another’s begins. Liberty is not an absolute and comes with some responsibility. One of those is not offending other people's religious or nationalistic sensibilities.
I find nothing worthy in hooting during my anthem. What point are you making? I find nothing edifying about refusing to stand up. I’d stand for anyone’s anthem, no biggie.
While it is acceptable that Amnesty believes (and so do I) that locking the guy up for more than a night and pillorying him for days on end is a lot over the top what baffles me is the reason for his conduct. It should be logical that a medical test be done before everyone goes screaming for blood to ensure he has normal brain function. The whole thing is just nuts.
Would you do this? Go to a theater and insult your anthem. Would you just sit there and allow someone else to do that? Certainly not. But fools are fools just like drunken drivers, lock them up, fine them and keep them overnight in jail. Piety is not the answer. The national anthem is a lot stronger than being bruised by some adolescent conduct. Kick his butt and send him home. He does it again, throw the book at him.
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