No One Can Force You To Stand Up For The National Anthem If It's Playing In A Movie Hall. The Law Stands With You

Today there was an incredible amount of hoopla on how a Muslim family was forced to leave a movie hall after hey refused to get up and show some respect to the National anthem playing in the hall.

Amidst all the noise a lot of people missed the major issue there. And NO! It was not intolerance!!!

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It was ignorance.

The fact that most people don't know that you don't need to stand up during the National anthem being played in the middle of a movie or as part of a show.

But if you are watching a film and remain seated while the national anthem plays, no legal action can be taken against you.

The Home Ministry rule says, "Whenever the anthem is sung or played, the audience shall stand in attention. But if it's played during the course of a newsreel or documentary as a part of the film, the audience is not expected to stand, as standing is bound to interrupt the exhibition of the film and create disorder and con fusion rather than add to the dignity of the nation."

There is no penalty for someone who refuses to stand in such cases. Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act states that causing disturbance during the playing of the anthem, or pre venting the singing of the an them, is punish able by imprison mentandor a fine. But nowhere in the law is it mentioned that re fusing to stand is a crime.

But cinemas refuse to take an official stand on `whether a person should stand or not'; they say it's up to each individual. In August 2015, Tinku Singh, group president and chief strategy officer, SRS Cinemas, says, "Asking people to stand for the national anthem in cinema halls needs to be discouraged. Cinema halls can't ask their guests to stand up. When we play the anthem in our cinemas, we switch on half the lights and the manager and staff stand in attention to indicate that everyone is supposed to stand."

Last October, Preity Zinta, while watching Bang Bang in a Mumbai theatre, had reportedly asked a man to leave the hall as he refused to stand during the national anthem. Meanwhile recently Amisha Patel and TV actor Kushal Tandon had a pretty gross online spat over a similar issue.

Speaking about the issue, Yogesh Raizada, corporate head, Wave Cinemas, tells us, "There is no directive from the government to play or not to play , so we don't ask our audiences to stand. It's their choice."