Hats off to the Supreme Court for recalling its November 30, 2016 order, which had made the playing of National Anthem before each film screening in cinema halls across the country mandatory. A bench of three judges headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Tuesday said that playing National Anthem is now optional, at the discretion of cinema halls. It is praiseworthy because love and respect for motherland is referred to heart not only screening. I appreciate the Bench summed up: “Three things are obvious. The Anthem has to be respected as it is the salutation to the motherland. A list of occasions for showing respect to the National Anthem. Proper decorum has to be maintained during the Anthem.”
Ashfaque Nadwi
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
