Why did Tharoor ask people to do so? Why didn't anyone on the podium try to correct him? Anyone who had lived in Kerala or India, should know that one has to stand in the "attention" posture while singing or hearing the national anthem. This is done in primary schools (which everyone should remmber)! Olden days, anthem was played at the end of the movie in a cinema talkies. Though many walked out, several people stood for the anthem and used to show respect.
Shashi Tharoor was born in London in 1956. And had a very good carrier at the UN. He had an excellent eductaional career in Calcutta and Boston. He has spent 29 years at the United Nations.
"Diplomatic Indian"
Just as his career, his Indian-ness too is diplomatic. He needed it when he stood for the post UN Secretary General. He needed it when he had to represent a country. He rightly needed it when he had to identify with a cultural heritage. He needed it to write books on India and related to India. he has written books on India and even Kerala. Many of them git awards. But the man doesn't know even how to stand for the National Anthem! Hasn't he attended any function at Indian Consulate in New York?
In 1977, at age 21, he married Tilottama Mukherji from Kolkata, India, a journalist and scholar, from whom he is now divorced. He is the father of twin sons, Ishaan and Kanishk, who have recently graduated from Yale. One of the twins, Ishaan lives in Hong Kong and works for Time magazine and the other brother, Kanishk, is a resident of London working for openDemocracy. In 2007 he married Christa Giles, a Canadian who is Deputy Secretary of the United Nations Disarmament Commission.
Mr Sharoor is coming to Kerala and Trivandrum only for joining the Cabinet in New Delhi. His eyes are on the Ministry of External Affairs. A person who has ignored India and is more "American" than "Indian" even in singing the National Anthem is a dangerous candidate. One should not support people just because his parents are from Kerala. We appreciate the fact that Mr Tharoor does speak some Malayalam..well and good. Do his sons have Indian citizenship? Can they speak Malayalam or any Indian language. All these are important!
But none of his can hide
his lack of "real" knoweldge of
India and our National Anthem.
This the reality in spite of the
fact he has lectured widely on
India. His knowledge of India is
"bookish" and academic. It is good
enough to fool especially pseudo
intellectuals in India and the West.
But now with this incident he has
been exposed thorougly!