A Permanent Basis of Unity
An orchestra of different languages, a platter of varied flavors, a celebration of different cultures, and a temple of many faiths. A land where a myriad of religions, cultures, and beliefs flourished in peace and harmony. A meeting ground for people of diverse races, rather than a country with framed political units and suffocating boundaries. India is a place whose culture and way of life the Greeks, Arabs, Afghans, Portuguese, Persians, Mongols, and other foreign invaders embraced, and overtime were left ‘Indianized’ while also influencing India’s culture. How can there be a national identity that caters to and includes all diverse groups? Some may argue that national citizenship promotes unity and collective action, but when nationalism is defined in terms of religion and ethnicity, it becomes separatist and aggressive and acts as a dividing instead of a unifying force. In order to uphold the ideals of humanism, we should transcend such rigidities and adopt civic nationalism, a nationalism of institutions and constitutions rather than one of identity where individuals are able to look past innate differences and help engender peace, harmony, and justice across the globe.
Numerous political movements that ensued during India’s freedom struggle gave a new meaning to Indian nationalism. One major impact on Indian nationalism was the partition, where the nation was divided not on the question of geography, but on the question of whether religion should be the determinant of nationhood or not. Those including Mohammed Ali Jinnah believed that religion should determine nationhood and hence advocated the formation of Pakistan. Whereas, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and several others believed the opposite and strove to create a secular India. They formed the Indian constitution that enshrines civic nationalism, where immutable things you acquire by birth such as ethnicity, religion, and language have no impact on your rights as an Indian national citizen. However, the current ruling establishment in India, the BJP under Narendra Modi has an alternative view of Indian national citizenship, one that is anchored not so much in diversity, pluralism, and cooperation, but rather a nationalism of identity. They are attempting to move the Indian civic nationalism of the constitution in the direction of ethno-religious nationalism by spreading the cultural ideology of ‘Hindutva’, which takes the all-encompassing and accepting religion of Hinduism and ties it to a political identity.
Consequently, such nationalism has threatened the assimilative ability of Indian civilization. For example, the Citizenship Amendment Act passed by India’s parliament in 2019 offers amnesty to only non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Excluding one community is a sustained assault on the basic underpinnings of what Indian civic nationalism is all about. This bill led to large-scale protests across the country and global retaliation. Interestingly, a large number of protesters were university students from all over India and abroad. Students from North East Students’ Association argued that “this bill seeks to fundamentally alter the idea of India and Indian citizenship through inclusion and exclusion based on one’s religious identity” (1). Furthermore, a student from Hyderabad University explains that “social media is why [they] are so aware these days as [they] receive information from various places” (1) and are hence encouraged to voice their opinions. As the youth of India begin to identify as ‘global citizens’ through increasing awareness and education about global issues, they are empowered to act towards issues in their own country. The United Nations condemned the Indian Citizenship Act for being “fundamentally discriminatory in nature” (2) as it violates India’s human rights commitments. A Times article also addressed this bill as Modi’s “biggest effort to change the religious and social makeup of India in line with Hindu Nationalist beliefs” (3). Here, Indian citizens along with the support from people all over the world are voicing their opinions against the state for the ideals of humanity. Sectarianism and xenophobia lie at the heart of nationalist politics, hence it is imperative for nations to find a permanent basis of unity socially and not politically.
Here some may ask — How can we ensure that civic nationalism does not fall into the domain of ethno-religious nationalism? Should we transcend nationalism in its entirety? Although civic nationalism upholds ideals of inclusivity, it too differentiates based on geographic boundaries, perpetuating the binary of self and other. The United States and France are proponents of civic nationalism, however, they continue to grapple with anti-Muslim sentiments and violence against minorities. The influential essayist George Orwell describes nationalism as “the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests” (4). This highlights the coercive nature of nationalism, where a patriot puts the desires and goals of his nation before other nations, losing their own sense of morality. In order to transcend the rigidities of national citizenship, we must engage with the wider-world by striving towards global citizenship. A global citizen is one who is not confined by geographical bounds and is inspired by diversity. Civic nationalism and global citizenship both stem out of the principles of inclusivity, however, the latter goes a step further by eliminating geographical boundaries and preaching one identity for all. This is not to say that global citizens do not have a nationalist sentiment, but rather that they recognize greatness outside their boundaries, and are able to embrace and enact change for all. As the renowned scholar, Rabindranath Tagore writes, “we must glory in the illumination of a lamp lit anywhere in the world” (5). Whether it be technological innovations in China, New Zealand’s remarkable response to the coronavirus, Finland’s education system, or numerous social movements in the United States, each country can learn a tremendous amount from the rest of the world. By being global citizens we can learn how to better tackle problems in our own country, and we can also help people around the world through our areas of expertise.
In this increasingly globalized world, we must think beyond the ideas of world leadership, global domination, and conventional international relations and focus on cooperative relationships that spread the ideals of humanitarianism and equality. Indian identity should relate to citizenship and land rather than the exclusionary and bigotry doctrine of Hindutva. Indian identity should stem from the constitution and not from Hindu scriptures, as only then can it coexist in harmony with other identities around the world. To manage diversity in the multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic society and polity that India is, India needs to move away from an identity that is linked to primordial aspects of our birth such as religion, caste, and color and instead adopt global citizenship where each individual has the ability to connect to people all over the world at a basic humanitarian level, and the desire to enact change for all. India must look back at her past and attempt to spark a revival of her old sense of nationhood, and bring back a sense of community not restricted by rational definitions or boundaries, but one that needed to be felt and experienced.
Bibliography
(1) “Against Idea Of India”: Hyderabad Students Protest Citizenship Law (CAA), Register (NRC). NDTV, 18 Dec. 2019.
(2) “New Citizenship Law in India ‘Fundamentally Discriminatory’: UN Human Rights Office | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations, 13 Dec. 2019.
(3) Perrigo, Billy. “What to Know About India’s Citizenship Amendment Bill.” Time, Time, 10 Dec. 2019, time.com/5746688/india-citizenship-amendment-bill/.
(4) Orwell, George. Notes on Nationalism. Penguin Books, 2018.
(5) Guha, Ramachandra. “Ramachandra Guha Says Jingoism Ascendant Due to Hypocrisy of Left, Intellectual, Moral, and Financial Corruption by Gandhis — India News , Firstpost.” Firstpost, 2 Nov. 2017.
