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23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Edited Patriotism

Edited Patriotism In its decision to stick to the 1937 resolution and sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, the Congress party has once again exposed its deep discomfort with the vocabulary of Indian nationalism. The Congress Working Committee’s reaffirmation of the 1937 position came even as the Central government moved to accord the National Song a stronger legal status. The uncomfortable question is why Congress remains so eager to preserve a concession made...

Edited Patriotism

Edited Patriotism In its decision to stick to the 1937 resolution and sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, the Congress party has once again exposed its deep discomfort with the vocabulary of Indian nationalism. The Congress Working Committee’s reaffirmation of the 1937 position came even as the Central government moved to accord the National Song a stronger legal status. The uncomfortable question is why Congress remains so eager to preserve a concession made in an era when Muslim League opposition and the politics of communal appeasement exerted enormous influence over the national movement. Vande Mataram was not some obscure religious composition dragged into politics by the BJP. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s hymn is one of the great battle cries of India’s freedom struggle. Generations of freedom fighters embraced it as an expression of devotion to the motherland. Yet Congress leaders chose to dilute its public rendition after objections that references to Hindu deities could be considered objectionable or exclusionary. The present controversy has stripped away the pretence that this is merely about historical precedent. Rahul Gandhi was caught on a hot mic referring to the Congress rendition as “our version” of Vande Mataram. This is a breathtaking assumption. Vande Mataram is not Congress property, neither is it a Gandhi family possession. It is not a party anthem to be edited according to the sensitivities of its political managers. It belongs to the Indian people. What exactly does “our version” mean? Is there a Congress Mother India distinct from the India to which millions of Indians owe their allegiance? The answer lies in the Congress’s larger political ecosystem that has repeatedly treated Hindu cultural expression as something to be negotiated, diluted or apologised for, while accommodating the most regressive forms of identity politics in the name of secularism. The party, throughout its political history, has practiced appeasement dressed up as pluralism. The result has been a grotesque asymmetry where Hindu civilisational symbols were expected to become less Hindu so that nobody else would be offended, while Congress politicians cultivated constituencies through precisely the kind of communal calculations they publicly claimed to oppose. The Vande Mataram controversy is not really about whether Congress sings two stanzas or six. It is about whether the oldest national party can finally shed the political reflex that made Hindu sentiment the easiest currency of compromise. The Congress claims the legacy of the freedom struggle. It should remember that the freedom struggle was not fought to create a nation permanently apologetic about its own civilisation. India does not need Congress’s permission to love its motherland. And Vande Mataram certainly does not need Congress’s edited approval.

Navy doc treat injured Pakistani crew

Mumbai: In a humanitarian gesture, the Indian Navy (IN) rendered lifesaving medical assistance to save the life of a Pakistani crewman on an Iranian fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea, officials said.


The operation took place on Friday/Saturday around 350 nautical miles in the high seas off Oman coast, with the help of the stealth frigate INS Trikand.


On April 4, the INS Trikand monitored a distress call from the Omani vessel 'Al Omeedi' seeking help for a crew member, who was seriously injured with multiple fractures and blood loss.


Further enquiry revealed that the distressed crewman was working on the vessel's engine when he sustained the grievous injuries and was transferred to another Iran-bound dhow, 'FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia', in the vicinity.

On getting the SOS, INS Trikand immediately altered her course to rush medical assistance to the injured crew.


The 'FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia' has a contingent of 11 Pakistanis and 5 Iranians manning the vessel.


The Indian warship's medical officer along with a team of Marine Commandos boarded the FV.


Ob board, the MO started the three hour long medical procedures, controlling the blood flow, suturing and splinting of the crew's injured fingers.

It was a timely response which prevented the patient's total loss of the injured fingers due to gangrene.


The IN stealth warship also provided crucial medical supplies, antibiotics to the FV to ensure the injured crew's wellbeing till the dhow reaches Iran.


The entire crew of the dhow expressed their gratitude to the IN for rendering assistance on time that helped saving their injured mate's life, said the IN officials.

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