This refers to your report “Suspension to tarnish the reputation of AIMIM” (March 17).The decision of the Maharashtra Assembly to suspend an MLA for refusing to shout Bharat Mata ki Jai is not fair. There is no law required to respect our Holy mother Nation. The freedom to not chant a slogan or prayer is, in fact, part of the basic freedom of conscience, a right without which civil existence itself is meaningless. ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ acknowledges the good, the bad and the ugly, removing the rose-tinted glasses that have perched on our nose for centuries. In its original sense, Bharat Mata is the personification of India as a mother goddess. The inspiration behind this conception was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, Anandamath. Owaisi was perhaps ill-advised to make the statement that he won’t chant the slogan even if a knife is put to his throat. Owaisi enjoys freedom of speech and want to politicise this incident. ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ eschews conventional, singular ideas of patriotism, satirically disdaining our unshakeable dogmatism, providing a fresh perspective on patriotism. The Assembly is hypothetical to work within the ball of the Constitution. The Central government must put a full stop to such controversies.
Vinod C. Dixit
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
