In a shocking incident, a wheelchair-bound, differently-abled activist was attacked in a movie theatre in Goa for not standing up during the national anthem.
Salil Chaturvedi is the only differently-abled person to have sailed from Mumbai to Goa and has represented India in wheelchair tennis. It was while he National anthem was playing in theatre that a couple spotted him, and started abusing him, physically and verbally, for not standing up.
According to the report, Chaturvedi was thrashed by a couple seated in the aisle above him. While the husband hit Salil, his wife kept on yelling, "why can't he get up?!" Chaturvedi, who was physically hurt from the attack, turned around and asked, "Why don’t you just relax? Why do you have to get into people’s faces? You don’t know the story here. You will never know”.
Agitated with Salil's response, the couple again yelled and asked him to stand up for the anthem. The couple soon realised their mistake and fearing police complaint, left the theatre in silence.
However, this incident cannot be seen in isolation. A similar incident took place last year in November, where a family was thrashed for not standing up during the national anthem. While what happened during both the incidents is condemnable, what is even more shocking are such unprovoked attacks on the fellow citizens.
And, to all the people who think that people not standing up during the national anthem are committing a crime- according to a 2005 court judgement, standing up during the national anthem is not mandatory. What is unfortunate that today under the garb of nationalism, people are trying to justify their actions. It is completely understandable that one may feel patriotic on hearing the anthem and at the sight of the flag, but hitting someone for the same is unjustified, and a criminal offence.
