Last night, a prominent television anchor began a discussion at a hugely attended conclave in Delhi by telling his audience to repeat after him, “Bharat Mata ki jai!” Then he asked those in the audience who had done so to raise their hands. Almost everyone did.



I hadn’t, and didn’t. Not that I have any problem shouting this particular slogan: I have done so on numerous occasions, most notably with a busload of transiting Indian pilgrims on a European airport tarmac a few months ago. It’s just that I didn’t like the idea of doing so because someone demanded it of me in a public space.

When the anchor went on to ask those who would refuse to say the words to raise their hands, I did not do so either, because I wouldn’t refuse to do so every time. I just believed in my right to choose whether and when I would say those words, or any other.