A few years ago, I began this column by addressing a controversy surrounding the national anthem. A number of people had been harassed at the time, for not standing up at a movie theatre. There were howls of outrage from all quarters, with some folks denouncing those who didn't stand as traitors, and others asking why the anthem needed to be played before a movie anyway. Our courts were eventually obliged to wade into the argument, and the whole issue quietened down for a while.

I thought it was dead until a couple of weeks ago, the topic blew up again. Videos on social media platforms publicised an incident involving a few people who didn't stand. They were berated, chased out of a movie theatre, and labelled traitors who didn't belong in India. A woman who claimed she couldn't stand because of physical discomfort was vilified, and a lot of Indians promptly patted themselves on their backs for being true defenders of their country. They were defenders on Twitter alone, of course, but that didn't seem to bother them much.