Don’t stand for anthem? India won’t stand for it.

MUMBAI, India — Nineteen moviegoers have been arrested in southern India this week for violating a new law: They did not stand when the national anthem was played in the theater.

At an international film festival in Kerala state Monday, 12 people refused to rise for the anthem, prompting a scuffle in which six of them were reportedly assaulted by other patrons.

The 12 were arrested and charged with offenses including contempt of court before being released on bail. No charges were filed against their attackers, police said.

A day earlier in the city of Chennai, formerly Madras, seven people took selfies while the anthem was played, leading to an altercation outside the theater with filmgoers who objected to their behavior. Police charged the seven with failing to observe the law.

India’s Supreme Court on Nov. 30 ordered that movie theaters play the national anthem before every screening and that everyone in the theater must “stand up to show respect.”

The court was responding to a petition by a retired government official who opposed “dramatization” of the anthem in movies and TV shows, which the judges also ruled was illegal.

It was a striking show of nationalism in a democracy whose constitution enshrines free expression, but the court did not stop there. It said the national flag must be displayed on screen and the auditorium doors closed while the anthem is played, “so that no one can create any kind of disturbance.”

The decision, which went into effect Saturday, provoked arguments between those who view it as an infringement of individual rights and others sympathetic to a tide of nationalism in the world’s secondmost populous nation.

Under the leadership of the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which is rooted in Hindu nationalist groups, many liberals and religious minorities believe India is growing more hostile to them.

Restrictions on the slaughter of cows, which Hindus regard as a sacred animal, have sparked mob attacks against minority Muslims and others suspected of possessing cow meat.

Commentators said the anthem decision would further empower vigilantes. “The political climate is getting more restrictive and the right to dissent is being steadily eroded,” said Bhairav Acharya, a lawyer who practices at the Supreme Court.

BJP leaders have supported the court decision, saying Indians should not allow anyone to disrespect national symbols.

“Those who find fault with the Supreme Court directive on the national anthem should fight it legally rather than insulting it in the street,” said Kummanam Rajasekharan, the party’s state president in Kerala.