Patriotism Gone Crazy? Para-athlete Hit for Sitting During Anthem

Chaturvedi says now he doesn’t feel very safe in a country which lacks ‘nuances’ in its nationalism.

Salil Chaturvedi in his Goa home. (Photo: ANI Screenshot)

Salil Chaturvedi is a Goa-based poet, photographer, part of the original cast of Gili Gili Sim Sim (the Indian version of Sesame Street) and the son of an Indian Air Force veteran. However, none of this is why he is in news.

Chaturvedi is wheelchair-bound due to a spinal injury.

An avid movie-goer, Chaturvedi is often helped into theatre seats by ushers in Goa theatres, which are not otherwise wheelchair friendly.

On one such outing, however, he got a nasty shock when his physical disability led to him being assaulted. He narrates the shocking incident when talking to The Quint, and now says he does not have plans of going to movies in a country where he feels unsafe as a disabled person.

Here’s how it unfolded: