As India celebrates its 69th Republic Day today, BT speaks to Bollywood stars on whether it’s important for us to wear patriotism on our sleeve, and why forced patriotism is not desirable in a democracy...
Lasyapriya Sundaram and Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 26, 2018)

ALIA BHATT
When you are patriotic, it comes out in the most subtle ways. So, you don’t have to wait for that one particular day to celebrate it. You can do it all year long. Wearing your patriotism on your sleeve isn’t as important as truly feeling the emotion in your heart.


VIDYA BALAN
One should not be forced to exhibit any sort of patriotism; it has to be organic. We can do a lot of things to show our love for our country, but let’s start with keeping it clean. Treat it like our homes; even when we step out of our houses, we must do that.


ARJUN KAPOOR
If you truly care about your country, it has to come through in the way you conduct yourself or the way you treat people around you. Being a good person is the first sign of being a good citizen. We need to be more humane. Being free means allowing other people to have freedom and the last year or two has been stifling in that sense. So, just be honest and sincere; that is a good start.


RAJKUMMAR RAO
The best way to show that you’re patriotic is by filing your taxes on time, keeping the surroundings clean, following traffic rules and abiding by the country’s laws. That’s true patriotism in today’s times!


SONAM KAPOOR
I love what our country stands for and being Indian to me means being inclusive and progressive.


KALKI KOECHLIN
It depends on the individual as to how they choose to celebrate R-Day. I am very proud of our Constitution because it is secular and gives equality to all citizens. To show your patriotism, look after your neighbourhood and if we all locally contribute to the sustainability of our environment, we will be contributing nationally as well.


SAIYAMI KHER
As a young Indian, I think feeling patriotic doesn’t need a particular day. You should feel it throughout the year. For starters, keep your country clean as a practice. The youth must pledge to do this at all times.


SHAHID KAPOOR
It depends from person to person, whether they want to wear their patriotism on their sleeve or not.


MADHURI DIXIT-NENE
You should love your country and it’s up to you how you want to show it. Whether it’s wearing it on your sleeve or feeling it in your heart, we live in a democracy, and so we have that freedom.


ATHIYA SHETTY
I am very proud to be an Indian, so I show it off. It’s important to be a responsible citizen and to keep your house, city and country clean. That’s what we should be doing every day, not just on Republic Day.


AANAND L RAI
R-Day is a reminder that we’ve matured one more year as a nation, but we still have to work hard to make our country proud. We must collectively do more for the nation. We have to take an oath that in our respective fields, we will outdo ourselves to make our nation proud of us. We have to work hard to keep the country happy and peaceful.


DIA MIRZA
I think it should be displayed through our actions. It should come across in our thoughts, choices and the difference we could make by uplifting the lives of those who are underprivileged. Every time we do a good deed, it’s being patriotic.


R MADHAVAN
Today, you should wear your patriotism on your sleeve shamelessly! But you must also feel it in your heart. To evoke a sense of nationalism, sing the National Anthem loud and clear in a crowd.


DIANA PENTY
Showing that you are patriotic is a personal choice. When you are proud of your country, why not shout it out! We can show our love for our motherland by being united, irrespective of the religion we practise.


SUBHASH KAPOOR
Today is an important day in the history of the nation. Our freedom struggle has led to this day, which united us as a country. It brings an inherent feeling of oneness and patriotism in every Indian but let’s first understand the importance of this day, which came with sacrifices. We must continue to be the way our freedom fighters envisioned us, and be a country they wanted us to become. I think there’s not enough taught in schools about Republic Day. It’s important that the relevance of the day is explained to children.