BSP MP Insults Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha

[Bang Galore]

I agree but minorities should not have been placed in a position to make a choice between religion and nation in this particular case(choice of national song). There was opposition all over from different religious groups for this song and so this should have been dropped completely for another song or should have dumped this notion of national song while there is a national anthem.

It wasn't some random piece picked up for the status of the national song. It's history is entwined in the freedom struggle & inspired countless people. Not some piece that could be replaced by any other random song.

 

[Sashan]

It wasn't some random piece picked up for the status of the national song. It's history is entwined in the freedom struggle & inspired countless people. Not some piece that could be replaced by any other random song.

It might have inspired countless but there are countless others who do not even know the significance of this song. But most understand the national anthem and it inspires them. So why create this redundancy of a national song in addition to national anthem while this song lost out to "Jana Gana Mana" in the choice as the anthem?

 

[Bang Galore]

It might have inspired countless but there are countless others who do not even know the significance of this song. But most understand the national anthem and it inspires them. So why create this redundancy of a national song in addition to national anthem while this song lost out to "Jana Gana Mana" in the choice as the anthem?

Precisely because it wasn't made the national anthem.....(for the very same reasons) History cannot simply be forgotten because someone has an issue with it.

 

[Sashan]

Precisely because it wasn't made the national anthem.....(for the very same reasons) History cannot simply be forgotten because someone has an issue with it.

It is not someone who has issues with it. There are many who has issues with. Not just muslims. Sikh leaders like Master Tara Singh rejected this song and many other Christian groups. And there are many who do not want this redundancy. So let the song be revered but do not institutionalize it by giving a designation which is not needed.

 

[Bang Galore]

It is not someone who has issues with it. There are many who has issues with. Not just muslims. Sikh leaders like Master Tara Singh rejected this song and many other Christian groups. And there are many who do not want this redundancy. So let the song be revered but do not institutionalize it by giving a designation which is not needed.

That is something already done. Some 65 years after independence it is quite easy to lose a meaning of what might have meant something to many people then. I'm not about to judge what those people, people who sacrificed plenty for this country, had in their minds. I'm willing to take an occasional behaviour of boorishness than try & erase a part of this country's history.

 

[Sashan]

That is something already done. Some 65 years after independence it is quite easy to lose a meaning of what might have meant something to many people then. I'm not about to judge what those people, people who sacrificed plenty for this country, had in their minds. I'm willing to take an occasional behaviour of boorishness than try & erase a part of this country's history.

Aren't you too judgmental in making a call? Maybe the rest would want to use the same yardstick right?

 

[Bang Galore]

Aren't you too judgmental in making a call? Maybe the rest would want to use the same yardstick right?

I'm making no call, just that what is being asked for is a bit too much. There was one MP who walked out. One. Don't see a reason to make such great alterations for that. You are welcome to disagree.

 

[Sashan]

I'm making no call, just that what is being asked for is a bit too much. There was one MP who walked out. One. Don't see a reason to make such great alterations for that. You are welcome to disagree.

My disagreement is not with the MP walking out. I read your previous post especially liked the example and I am in alignment. My issue is with the insensitivity folks made the choice of a national song.

 

[cyphercide]

My disagreement is not with the MP walking out. I read your previous post especially liked the example and I am in alignment. My issue is with the insensitivity folks made the choice of a national song.

Think of it this way. George Washington was the first President and regarded as one of the founding fathers of the United States. He has his face carved into a mountain as well as printed on currency. However, he was also a prominent slave owner and presided over a time when Blacks were traded like cattle.

Would it be fair to your nation's history to erase his legacy as it may seem insensitive to a particular community today?

 

[Sashan]

Think of it this way. George Washington was the first President and regarded as one of the founding fathers of the United States. He has his face carved into a mountain as well as printed on currency. However, he was also a prominent slave owner and presided over a time when Blacks were traded like cattle.

Would it be fair to your nation's history to erase his legacy as it may seem insensitive to a particular community today?

Even many do not like Gandhi for his aligning himself with fundamentalists within muslim religion(support for Khilafat movement) and Nehru for his many misgivings. But these two were not the cause of controversy then right? It is about a song which lost out as National Anthem due to the controversy surrounding it. So I do not understand the need to resurrect such song and give it a tag of National Song and institutionalize it. It was controversial before, it is controversial now.

 

[cyphercide]

Even many do not like Gandhi for his aligning himself with fundamentalists within muslim religion(support for Khilafat movement) and Nehru for his many misgivings. But these two were not the cause of controversy then right? It is about a song which lost out as National Anthem due to the controversy surrounding it. So I do not understand the need to resurrect such song and give it a tag of National Song and institutionalize it. It was controversial before, it is controversial now.

Gandhi and Nehru aren't remembered because they were controversial. They played pivotal roles in shaping India's history regardless of what people feel about them,. Like Washington, they cannot be forsaken from memory for precisely the same reason. The national song occupies a similar pedestal due to its historical significance. Nobody needs to resurrect "Vande Mataram" as it never was assigned to cold storage in the first place. Reciting it is optional and that takes care of the sensitivities of people who don't want to do the same.

 

[jbond197]

Even many do not like Gandhi for his aligning himself with fundamentalists within muslim religion(support for Khilafat movement) and Nehru for his many misgivings. But these two were not the cause of controversy then right? It is about a song which lost out as National Anthem due to the controversy surrounding it. So I do not understand the need to resurrect such song and give it a tag of National Song and institutionalize it. It was controversial before, it is controversial now.

Controversial or not but this is a song which is respected by majority of Indians. Mind it, not everyone is required/forced to sing the song but is it really necessary to show disrespect to it when it is in play?. The song was a symbol of our freedom movement and any insult of it is by and large insult of our freedom movement/freedom fighters. Heroes went to the gallows happily singing this very song and idiots like this MP, whom those heroes died for, are now showing disrespect to the song. I think some does not deserve any kind of freedom because as soon as you let them lose they will spill their garbage mentality around.

 

[Sashan]

Gandhi and Nehru aren't remembered because they were controversial. They played pivotal roles in shaping India's history regardless of what people feel about them,. Like Washington, they cannot be forsaken from memory for precisely the same reason. The national song occupies a similar pedestal due to its historical significance. Nobody needs to resurrect "Vande Mataram" as it never was assigned to cold storage in the first place. Reciting it is optional and that takes care of the sensitivities of people who don't want to do the same.

Controversial or not but this is a song which is respected by majority of Indians. Mind it, not everyone is required/forced to sing the song but is it really necessary to disrespect to it when it is in play?. The song was a symbol of our freedom movement and any insult of it is by and large insult of our freedom movement/freedom fighters. Heroes went to the gallows happily singing this very song and idiots like this MP, whom these heroes died for, are now showing disrespect to the song. I think some does not deserve any kind of freedom because as soon as you let them lose they will spill their garbage mentality around.

Lets split the controversy here - The MP walking out and designating some song as a National Song in additional to the National Anthem. The first controversy, the MP walking out is despicable. The p**ck should have shown the minimum courtesy and respect as he was not there as a muslim but as a representative of the people from various communities.

My objections is for the second - why designate a controversial song as National Song or even have a National Song while there is an Anthem which is respected by almost all Indians? It might be closer to heart to many but is there a need to institutionalize it.

 

[cyphercide]

My objections is for the second - why designate a controversial song as National Song or even have a National Song while there is an Anthem which is respected by almost all Indians? It might be closer to heart to many but is there a need to institutionalize it.

I feel as though we are going in circles. The issue of sidelining the national song shouldn't arise due to its historical significance and the fear of "institutionalizing" it is exaggerated as reciting it is completely optional. Note how the MP wasn't even reprimanded for his behavior. Why contemplate a ban every time some random people take offense over it? One also wonders where the slippery slope will lead us to considering the extensive censorship already in place in India.

 

[LaBong]

Even many do not like Gandhi for his aligning himself with fundamentalists within muslim religion(support for Khilafat movement) and Nehru for his many misgivings. But these two were not the cause of controversy then right? It is about a song which lost out as National Anthem due to the controversy surrounding it. So I do not understand the need to resurrect such song and give it a tag of National Song and institutionalize it. It was controversial before, it is controversial now.

Just as "in God we trust" was made United States motto because it played a role in US civil war, Vande Mataram was given the status of national song because of its role in Indian independence struggle.

Whether or not someone wants to sing it is his/her prerogative, people are not constitutionally mandated to sing it anyway.