Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar Tuesday released a new song produced by Doordarshan. Titled Watan, the patriotic song, timed for India’s 73rd Independence Day, has been sung by Javed Ali (of Ishaqzaade and Jab Tak Hai Jaan fame) and composed by Dushyant, with lyrics by Aalok Shrivastav.
It’s nicely sung, and takes viewers on a journey across India – mountains, rivers, deserts, ghats, and various cultural markers, including apple-cheeked mountain kids running around. So far, so clichéd. But one doesn’t mind clichés, necessarily, especially around Independence Day.
In between lush backwaters and golden desert sunsets, paddy fields and beaches, the video also highlights ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 and the contentious Sardar Patel statue.
And, because India now doesn’t know how to be patriotic without virtue-signalling about soldiers, there is a disproportionate amount of footage devoted to… you guessed it – the mighty Indian defence forces. Guns, aircraft, men in battle fatigues running around dodging exploding bombs, the odd naval ship – it’s all there, complete with footage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi saluting fallen warriors at India Gate, just in case viewers weren’t sure what, or rather, who, this video is all about.
While the new DD song does depict India’s various regional cultures, at no point does it clearly spell out India’s ‘unity in diversity’ mantra. It’s a far, far cry from 1988, when Bhimsen Joshi, Lata Mangeshkar and others came together for another Independence Day song produced by Doordarshan. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara became a cult classic, almost anthem-like, for its singular message of unity in diversity.
The shift in tone isn’t entirely new, though. Last year, DD’s Independence Day song, Yeh Desh Meri Jaan, written and composed by the Watan duo but sung by Shankar Mahadevan, also featured some footage of India’s defence forces in battle. (Interestingly, it also featured at least a few of the same images as Watan – the shots of the desert and the school-children running in a corridor are identical.)
However, the amount of footage dedicated to the armed forces was a lot less in that song – a few seconds as opposed to over a minute in Watan – and much of the lyrics focused on unity. “Alag alag swabhav hain, watan toh ek hai” (People have different ways, but the country is one), sings Mahadevan as viewers are shown quick montages of India’s varied religions. “Hai mazhabon ka maan tirange ke rang mein, hai ekta ki shaan tirange ke rang mein, jhukne na doonga isko yeh elaan hai mera” (The tricolour symbolises respect for all religions and unity between communities, I declare I will never let it down).
Not so much Watan. As the camera races across raging battlefields and treacherous mountains, Javed Ali croons, “Kadmon pe tere saat gagan hum jhukaaenge, Kandhe pe tere jeet ka parcham sajaaenge, Gaalon pe tere shaurya ki laali rachaaenge” (We will lay the seven skies at your feet, we will place the flag of victory on your shoulders, we will colour your cheeks with the red of bravery). This is immediately followed by shots of PM Modi paying tribute at India Gate.
“Mile Sur Mera Tumhara was about celebrating unity in diversity whereas the new song is about the aspirations of New India, centred on its courage, valour and the promise we make to our country to take it to greater heights and do things to make it the best,” Doordarshan director-general Supriya Sahu said.
The message is clear. Patriotism à la 1988 is dead. Perhaps unity in diversity is no longer what the people want to hear about. It’s boring, it’s not macho enough, it’s not what fills them with pride anymore. What does is victory in war. And that, they believe, is only mumkin under one person.
But maybe Independence Day needs to be about what the country needs, rather than what it wants. At a time when people need reassurance of peace and togetherness, after the bitter polarisation of the Lok Sabha elections and Article 370, instead of thrillingly muscular displays of power, a little boring unity in diversity might be just the thing.
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