Even the age-old example of Hitler and his acts classify as nationalism but sold to people by ingraining in their minds, the concept of patriotism. In short, prioritising nation over a job, friends, family, and your entire life. Such a demand is not being patriotic. It is being nationalistic.
Besides this distinction, another argument that is relevant here is; Can a few symbolic actions be considered a deciding factor as to who is a patriot and who is not? If we take the recent ruling of the supreme court making it mandatory to stand within closed doors of a cinema hall while the national anthem plays, is nothing but a mockery of a citizen’s patriotism. How does a mere act of willing or not willing to stand at a particular point in time, depicts how much love a person has for his country? Similarly, mandating the recital of the slogan “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” by the BJP leader Dilip Sanghvi was nothing more than an unnecessary display of ‘patriotism’. The rest I’ll leave for you to decide.
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About the Author:
Monica Vaswani,
PGP2016-18
IIM Raipur
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