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AROUND 20 PEOPLE have been arrested in India, accused of failing to stand for the national anthem in cinemas, police said today, two weeks after the country’s top court made it compulsory.
On 30 November, the Supreme Court ruled that cinemas should play the national anthem before every screening, and that the audience should stand – drawing angry accusations of an assault on civil liberties.
“All the cinema halls in India shall play the national anthem before the feature film starts and all present in the hall are obliged to stand up to show respect to the national anthem,” the judges said.
Twelve people were arrested yesterday at an international film festival in the southern state of Kerala for failing to observe the order, police said.
They said the film-goers, who have not been identified, had refused to stand after being asked to do so by organisers and police.
“They were formally arrested and later released on bail,” said Sparjan Kumar, police chief of Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
Assaulted
Kumar said six of the 12 had been assaulted after refusing to stand, but that no charges would be brought against the attackers. He told AFP by phone:
We are yet to receive a complaint over the assault. There is no investigation in (that) incident.
Another eight people were arrested on Sunday at a cinema in the southern city of Chennai after being assaulted by a group of 20 men during the interval for allegedly refusing to stand.
They were reportedly charged under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act and face up to three years in jail if found guilty.
The Supreme Court did not specify a penalty for failure to stand.
Kumar said the 12 cinemagoers arrested in his state had been charged with various related offences, including contempt of court.
Before the latest order, the playing of the national anthem was only compulsory in the western state of Maharashtra – home to Mumbai and the Bollywood film industry – and standing was optional.
There were however a number of reports of cinemagoers being attacked for failing to stand, even before the court gave its ruling.
In October, a wheelchair-user was assaulted in a Mumbai cinema by fellow members of the audience who apparently failed to realise he was disabled.
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I’d imagine Cinema attendance will decline.
There must be some way to link this to both Trump and Brexit
I blame Irish Water
They’re all examples of average folk suffering due to toxic nationalism?
More likely an overreaching state suffering from insecurity
Tis a bit much. Here you just get a dig in the ribs and told to stand up.
It’s a bugger really. You know that once the song is finished the bar is closed but you can’t run up fir a swift last pint out of respect. It’s a mixture of pride, obligation and acceptance. It’s like Pavlov’s dog in reverse. As soon as the first line starts my tongue goes dry.
Do that to me and find yer nuts rising up through yer chest in reply.
Nationalism and patriotism, just like religion. Anything that says ‘us over here’ are different from ‘those over there.’ Humanity is obsessed with being one thing or another. Indian, Irish, catholic, Christian, Hindu, black, white, man, woman.
Jaysus lads, we’re all human.
Just like all wood is wood and oak, ash, mahogany etc all a superfluous exercise in naming the same thing. Good luck making a camán out of Mexican pine or yellow deal…
“Nationalism does nothing but teach you to hate people you never met, and to take pride in accomplishments you had no part in.” Doug Stanhope
Doug Stanhope, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Bill Hicks, Joe Rogan: just a few comedians who use their craft to speak truths in such a clever and funny way!
Surely the most ridiculous legislation! Whoever went to the cinema and thought you know what there’s not enough patriotism going on here? Bizarre.
“Wherever you may seek solitude, men will ferret you out and compel you to belong to their desperate company of oddfellows.” Henry David Thoreau
Weird all right. Maybe there’s a fine – stealth tax – it would rake in a fine amount for a government sly enough. (I’m just slipping out to copyright an old song…)
this is a fine example of when leftist take it too far
I think you’ll find it’s generally the right that are overtly patriotic like this
@Harry: Andre has been posting sh*te like this on almost every single article I’ve read today.
Best to be ignored, I think.
Every frigging news item nowadays, somebody has to make it about left versus right. The world is more complicated than that.
That’s mad Ted
So what? Refusing to stand for a national anthem is free speech. Considering the lies some of those caterwauls and the implicit violence in them refusing to stand is a legitimate protest. Consider the appalling dirge that is this kip’s notional anthem, with the big lie in the middle about “No-oh more our ancient Si-re-land sha-hall shellturr de despot or de slaaaaave” when you look at shameful SHannon War&TorturePort and how the Ho’Lie Ground facilitates foreign despots dragging their slaves across it to destruction and damnation whether shackled to the floor of N379P and her Gulfscream sisters in an orange jumpsuit with sedatives up their bottles while Irish customs and Gardai allow their hats to fall down over their eyes making like three monkeys, or wearing Camo and desert combat boots to inflict and have inflicted upon them all manner of cowardice inhumanity and rapine, betraying dishonouring and disgracing Ireland’s cause and history.
It is my absolute pleasure to never stand for that lie and to remain seated wherever I hear that caterwaul played. Why not swap it for Pink Floyd’s “Money”? That’d much better suit the values of Modren Direland. “I’m alright Jack keep yer hands offa maaah stack…”
Rant over?
U ok ? Xx
Go home John, you’re drunk.
Sure nearly anyway. Just to observe that Yeats was correct then and now when he said “All that was sung / All that was said in Ireland was a lie, / Bred out of the contagion of the throng…” He would have been unsurprised to see the wreckage wrought by Irish Lies were he to see this kip today and post-2008. SNN City War&Torture Port is only a symptom of a much greater national malaise.
@John O’Driscoll:
Do you need us to call you a doctor?
What do people think of bands playing the national anthem in pubs at the end of the night . I used to always play it but don’t anymore as I felt that in places that nobody listened to it or stood for it. Over the years I have had verbal abuse over not playing it in some places. Personally I don’t really think it belongs in a pub anymore but others think different.
@Adrian Connolly: I refuse to stand when played in a pub. Too sinister
Hated it as a young fella, and when I played in bands in pubs we often got dogs abuse for not playing it as well. Don’t think it’s a thing anymore though. Thankfully.
Yeah, the national anthem being played on a plastic fdcking backing track at 4 in the morning after about ten pints was never the spirit of what the national anthem was to be used for. To anyone giving you abuse for that is pathetic, laughable, small minded, cringe and a proper embarrassment to their family and country and needs to be schooled on the spirit of a national anthem.
Don’t stop believing is the national anthem in coppers
Aaah yes…the mandatory statist pledge. Still around in some countries that forced ritual. All hail the holy nylon rectangle and jingle that accompanies it…or else.
Cue Father Billy O’Dwyer, a.k.a. “Spinmaster” playing Ghost Town lol.
Same would apply in a few countries .. disrespect the Anthem , go to jail ! Thailand is pretty bad on stuff like that, say a bad word against any member of the Royal family , 15 years !!! They have all been in mourning since October over the king’s death, wearing black or black ribbons , afraid not to , whether or not they are genuinely sad , and yes , you stand BEFORE the movie starts for images of the king and the playing of the anthem and it would be a brave person that would refuse to do so !
Maybe they should just play India”s Call
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