Thursday, Jan 13, 2005
Thursday, Jan 13, 2005 |
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By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 12. The Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, has written to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, that his party's firm and considered view was that the National Anthem should not be altered. Referring to a public interest litigation petition seeking deletion of the word "Sindh," he said that since the Supreme Court had now asked the Centre to give its response to the plea, he was writing to him to make clear the Bharatiya Janata Party's view.
Flawed and frivolous
Mr. Advani said the petitioner's plea was fundamentally flawed to the point of being frivolous. It had also the potential of being exploited by narrow-minded forces that could undermine the country's unity and integrity, he said. In the letter written yesterday — copies were made available to the press today — Mr. Advani quoted from Jawaharlal Nehru's Discovery of India: "The word Hindu is clearly derived from Sindhu, the old, as well as the present, Indian name for the Indus. From this Sindhu came the words Hindu and Hindustan as well as Indus and India." On Vande Mataram, Mr. Advani again quoted Nehru to stress that while Jana Gana Mana was chosen as the national anthem, Vande Mataram was accorded an equal status. Nehru wrote: "It is unfortunate that some kind of argument has arisen as between Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana. Vande Mataram is obviously and indisputably the premier national song of India, with a great historical tradition, and intimately connected with our struggle for freedom ... it seemed therefore that while Vande Mataram should continue to be the national song par excellence in India, the national anthem tune should be that of Jana Gana Mana. " Mr. Advani requested Dr. Singh to consider these points while preparing the Centre's response to the Supreme Court.
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