NEWS ANALYSIS: Exhibitionist Patriotism
By Kartik Lokhande It was August 15 th , the Independence Day of the country. It was an occasion for celebration. Hearts filled with pride, children proudly wearing badges bearing shape of India’s map, people thronging ‘happening venues’ to raise slogans loudly and wave as big a flag as possible to prove that their pride was greater than that of others, and such scenes were visible throughout the country. At a traffic signal where vehicles were waiting for the signal to turn green, a van with a national flag mounted atop came blowing horn and youngsters in it shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jay’, and zoomed past, jumping the signal that was still red. This scene, too, must have been noticed by countless many across the country. This, is sad reality of the day. No doubt, every Indian should celebrate Independence Day. No doubt, people must wave flags, hoist those, raise slogans, sing patriotic songs, roam around. But, one must not have any doubt in mind that all these things should add...