To SC & Trolls Alike, Stop Forcing Nationalism on Us: Nidhi Razdan

“Those handing out certificates of patriotism are fake nationalists themselves. Why force nationalism on anyone?”

Nidhi Razdan is no stranger to being called “anti-national”. But who are the ones issuing these certificates of patriotism anyway?

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

I think those who are going around today handing out labels such as ‘patriot’, ‘nationalist’ or ‘anti-national’ are fake nationalists. Who are they to give those certificates?

As Executive Editor of NDTV, one of the most fiercely trolled media organisations, Nidhi Razdan is no stranger to being called “anti-national”. In this freewheeling chat with The Quint, Razdan speaks on the idea of India 70 years since our Independence and what it really means to be a nationalist.

On the SC order making it compulsory for Indians to stand up and sing the national anthem in cinema halls before a movie begins:

On whether JNU needs a military tank on campus to instill patriotism in its students:

On the army being dragged into every debate on ‘nationalism’:

Is it anti-national to ask questions? When the Vietnam and Iraq wars took place, Americans questioned their own government. Journalists asking questions are doing their job, not being anti-national. In a democracy, you ask questions of all institutions – including the military, the courts, the government. That’s what makes us a great democracy

Live and Let Live, India

Where does the problem lie then, according to Razdan?

“The problem in India right now is that we are not even able to respect another point of view without getting hyper, and it happens on all sides of the ideological divide.”

If I had one wish for India, I would hope that all of us could just learn to live and let live and respect one another. That is what India stands for. I wish we could remember our diversity and not be the divisive, polarised people we seem to have become today

If she could define India in three words, what would they be?

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