Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Much ado about the Vande Matram



There has been a lot of controversy about the singing of the Vande Matram, and this just refuses to die down. Take a look at the following URL from the Times of India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1960124.cms (Note: I am in no way afflicated to the Times of India, it's just one location to read news).
The biggest problem is that this is a lot of controversy that got created without much valid reason. The Govt proposed that school children sings the national song mandatorily as part of centenary celebrations (even though later research showed that there was no centenary as such). A section of the Muslim ulema objected to singing the Vande Matram on religious grounds, and the Govt withdrew the directions. The BJP objected to this backdown on patriotic grounds claiming that the Govt is failing to respect the national song.
The Govt draws criticism due to being perceived as pandering to a section of the religious class and not being able to take a stand which is right. This is its biggest failing.




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posted by Ashish Agarwal @ 8:58 AM     Comments: 0