Wheelchair-user in Guwahati called 'Pakistani' for not standing up for anthem

October 02, 2017 13:57

In another incident of jingoism masquerading as nationalism, a wheelchair-user from Guwahati was allegedly verbally abused by two men at a multiplex because he did not stand up for the national anthem on Friday, 29 September.

Arman Ali, a disability rights activist and executive director of Shishu Sarothi, an NGO working to empower disabled people, alleged that despite sitting upright during the national anthem as a "mark of respect", the two men abused him saying, "Saamne ek Pakistani baitha hai (A Pakistani is sitting ahead)."

Ali is planning to write to the Chief Justice of India.

This is not the first time hysteria over the national anthem has driven self-appointed custodians of patriotism to attack people for failing to honour the national anthem by standing up for it. This has been a contentious issue in India, with growing emphasis on overt displays of patriotism.

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