The price of patriotism
India celebrated its 75th Independence Day last week, a major milestone in the journey of the country, which was marked with pride and excitement all around. It was also an occasion to reflect. Patriotism is less of a feeling, and more of a performance these days. An incident reported from Haryana, of a fair price shop owner forcing poor people to shell out ₹20 to buy a flag before they were given their supplies caused outrage and the government was quick to take action against him. The government also clarified, rightly and thankfully, that nobody can be forced to buy national flags. But still, the incident was a metaphor of the perils of turning patriotism into a spectacle -- it imposes a cost on the population, and the poor suffer more. In a Kashmir town, people were sternly asked by the administration to take part in the flag campaign, leading to protests by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
