NOT TREASON, JUST AN OPINION: CONGRESS MUST LEARN TO TOLERATE DEBATE

 

The uproar over former Speaker and MP Vishweshwar Kageri Hegde’s remarks on Jana Gana Mana exposes an uncomfortable truth about the Congress party today — it no longer believes in the freedom of expression it once championed. Kageri’s statement, suggesting that some have historically viewed the national anthem as composed to welcome King George V, was not a declaration of disloyalty or contempt for the nation. It was a reference to a long-standing historical discussion that even Tagore himself addressed in his lifetime.

To portray such an opinion as “anti-national” is preposterous. Kageri neither insulted the anthem nor questioned its place in India’s identity. He merely revisited an old debate — one that has appeared in academic writings and historical discussions for decades. If the Congress leadership, including Priyanka Kharge and Ramanath Rai, truly valued intellectual honesty, they would counter his argument with facts, not threats of penal action.

This intolerance toward differing views is a sad commentary on what the Congress has become. A party that once produced statesmen like Nehru — who defended even his fiercest opponents’ right to speak freely — now seeks to punish dissent. The irony deepens when one recalls Mahatma Gandhi’s advice to dissolve the Congress after independence, lest it turn into a self-serving institution clinging to moral authority without moral depth.

In a democracy, no subject — not even the national anthem — should be immune from debate or inquiry. Patriotism is not proven by blind agreement but by the courage to engage with differing perspectives. To call every disagreement an insult to the nation is to shrink the democratic space into a chamber of echoes.

The Congress, which once fought for freedom from colonial rule, now seems determined to police freedom of thought. The party that claims to uphold Gandhi’s values has forgotten his most fundamental lesson: disagreement is not disloyalty.

India does not need self-appointed patriots shouting “anti-national” at every turn. It needs citizens — and politicians — who can argue, question, and think without fear. Kageri has not betrayed the nation; he has simply exercised the right that democracy guarantees. It is the Congress that betrays democracy by refusing to let him speak.