Flag Lapel Issues

I'm not very well-versed with the proposed policies of the three remaining individual candidates in the running for the Democratic and Republican nominations for the US Presidential elections, but I have been more than a bit impressed by one candidate - Barack Obama. Or as his detractors would prefer, Barack Hussein Obama.
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I don't agree with all that he does, and behind his message of hope and change he could possibly be just another politician. But one quality that has really caught my attention is how Obama has managed to bring people face to face with their own prejudices.

One of his now lesser-talked-about stances is his insistence on not wearing the flag lapel. These little pins, painted in the colors of the American flag, have become almost a mandatory fashion accessory for presidential candidates and politicians to showcase their patriotism. Obama, though differs, claiming that flag lapels have become empty symbolism and a substitute for true patriotism.

Obama's view makes sense. Patriotism is not as simple as wearing a pin on your jacket. Wearing or not wearing a pin proves nothing about one's patriotism. Wearing a pin is an easy thing to do - real patriotism is far tougher.

Why am I mentioning all this here? Because I feel we Indians too have our own flag lapel issues, giving greater importance to mere symbols than actual achievements. Patriotism is coming to be judged, even in this country on such hollow grounds.

Case in point: NR Narayana Murthy. The Infosys icon and poster boy of India Inc was accused of having played an instrumental version of the national anthem at a function which the then President APJ Abdul Kalam was attending. This was done, as Murthy later explained, to prevent an embarrassment to some foreign delegates who were also present.

Nothing very condemnable about it. Its easy to see where NRN is coming from - I've faced such a situation myself. In my college in Chennai, they used to end functions, with an ode to Tamil Nadu, known as the Tamil Thaivazhthu (not sure if that is the right spelling). The tune of the song was fairly melodius; not knowing the language, I can't comment upon its lyrics and their poetic value. And also, not knowing the language also meant that every time the song was sung, to be surrounded by people singing it with gusto felt a bit weird and uncomfortable. I can understand therefore why a foreigner would feel similarly about the Jana Gana Mana, though he may appreciate the musical quality. In light of all that, what Murthy did is not only all right, it is also a fine gesture of goodwill.

But predictably, our highly charged and "patriotic" leaders stepped in, aghast at Murthy's egregious "insult" to the national anthem. I've personally attended different functions of the navy, including two where the Governor of the state and the Chief of the Army Staff were presiding. And on all occassions without fail I have heard the instrumental version being played. It is definitely not an insult to the anthem to play it instru.

Let's leave that aside though, and ask the bigger question: does a man like Murthy need to prove his patriotism? That too, to politicians who are responsible for the rut we find ourselves in today? Murthy and his associates helped create an industry that brings revenue to this country, and provides jobs to large numbers engineering and science graduates. He's helped change the image of India from a land of snake charmers to a land of software engineers. Yes, even this image is flawed since it neglects the troubles of the farming sector, but it does not change the contribution that Murthy has made to this country and its economy.

Yet Murthy had a case slapped against him by the Karnataka police, and was made to apologise for something that never deserved an apology. Why did this need for symbolism trump the far bigger evidence of patriotism, the elephant in the room, so to speak?

The same thing happened with Sachin Tendulkar, who had a complaint lodged against him for cutting a cake in the colours of the Indian flag. That's right. Sachin Tendulkar, acknowledged as one of our greatest cricketers ever, the man who saved the Indian team the blushes on so many occassions, the man whose heroics won the Man of the Series in the ICC World Cup 2003, is a traitor, as our hyper-patriots would have us believe.

Its happened with Sania Mirza too. The case against her is actually non-existent. The photo with her feet near the flag is easily identified as a photo trick. I can produce the same effect, and I'm no photographer.

Interesingly, all the people who rushed in to condemn Murthy, Sachin and Sania have no qualms walking the streets on the 16th of August and 27th of January each year, when tricolors form a nice carpet on the roads. I have never seen a single one of these gung-ho patriots pick up even a single flag lying on the road. Does anyone then have the right to question the patriotism of people who have made significan achievements in their fields and put India on the map in those fields?

And that's where Obama's statements come in.

"I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism."

"You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. And you show your patriotism by being true to your values and ideals. And that's what we have to lead with, our values and ideals," Obama said.

I don't know how sincere or patriotic Obama is, but that captures the essence of patriotism better than any of our media patriots.

Flag lapel issues exist everywhere, even in our own backyard. And we need to reject such superficial claims of patriotism and see what people have actually done to claim themselves as patriotic, or brand others as unpatriotic.