NATIONALISM

1. Introduction

• Nationalism is an ideology that holds that a nation is the fundamental unit for human social life, and takes precedence over any other social and political principles.
• Nationalism in Europe, led to the unification of several small kingdoms into larger nation-states.
• The idea of nationalism was born during the French Revolution.
• The present-day German and Italian states were formed through such a process of unification and consolidation.
•  A large number of new states were also founded in Latin America. Along with the consolidation of state boundaries, local dialects and local loyalties were also gradually consolidated into state loyalties and common languages.
•  The people of the new states acquired a new political identity which was based on membership of the nation-state.
•  But nationalism also accompanied and contributed to the break up of large empires such as the Austro-Hungary empires in the early twentieth century in Europe as well as the break-up of the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese empires in Asia and Africa and Russia.
• The struggle for freedom from colonial rule by India and other former colonies was a nationalist struggle, inspired by the desire to establish nation-states which would be independent of foreign control.
• The process of redrawing states in many parts of the world we witness nationalist struggles that threaten to divide existing states. Such separatist movements have developed among the Quebecois in Canada, the Basques in northern Spain, the Kurds in Turkey and Iraq, and the Tamils in Sri Lanka, among others.
• What constitutes a nation? A nation is to a great extent an ‘imagined’ community, held together by the collective beliefs, aspirations and imaginations of its members. It is based on certain assumptions which people make about the collective whole with which they identify.

2. Difference between Indian Nationalism and European Nationalism

The European model of nationalism is not suitable for India because-

1. It threatens the foundational values of our multicultural society.
2. Nationalism based on a singular social homogenizing principle affecting all other diverse cultures is unacceptable and unsuited to India's multicultural and pluralistic society.
3. European model of nationalism led to the rise of Nazism in Europe, which resulted in world war ii.
4. In the name of national integration and fighting enemies, both outside and within, this idea of nationalism undermines minority rights, and procedures of democracy and tries to suppress dissent as anti–national.

3. Constituents of  nationalism

Shared belief: It is to refer to the collective identity and vision for the future of a group which aspires to have an independent political existence.

History:  A sense of their history by drawing on collective memories, legends, and historical records, to outline the continuing identity of the nation. Thus nationalists in India invoked its ancient civilisation cultural heritage and other achievements to claim that India has had a long and continuing history as a civilisation and that this civilisational continuity and unity is the basis of the Indian nation.

Terrorism: Sharing a common past and living together on a particular territory over a long period gives people a sense of their collective identity. It helps them to imagine themselves as one people.

Shared Political Ideals: Members of a nation share a vision of the kind of state they want to build. They affirm among. Other things are a set of values and principles such as democracy, secularism and liberalism. In a democracy, it is a shared commitment to a set of political values and ideals that is the most desirable basis of a political community or a nation-state. Within it, members of the political community are bound by a set of obligations.

Common Political Identity:  A shared cultural identity, Observing the same festivals, seeking the same holidays, and holding the same symbols can bring people together, but it can also pose a threat to the values that we cherish in a democracy. such as a common language, or common descent. There are two reasons for this. One, all major religions in the world are internally diverse. They have survived and evolved through a dialogue within the community. As a result, there exists  within each religion several sects who differ significantly in their interpretation of the religious texts and norms.

Two, most societies are culturally diverse. They have people belonging to different religions and languages living together in the same territory. To impose a single religious or linguistic identity as a condition of belonging to a particular state would necessarily exclude some groups.

4. Difference between Nation and State

5. National Self Determination

• In making this claim a nation seeks recognition and acceptance by the international community of its status as a distinct political entity or state.
• Most often these claims come from people who have lived together on a given land for a long period and who have a sense of common identity.
• In some cases, such claims to self-determination are linked also to the desire to form a state in which the culture of the group is protected.
• The right to national self-determination has also been asserted by national liberation movements in Asia and Africa when they were struggling against colonial domination.
• Nationalist movements maintained that political independence would provide dignity and recognition to the colonised people and also help them protect the collective interests of their people.

Demands for National Self-Determination

• Demands for national self-determination have been raised in different parts of the World. Basque is a hilly and prosperous region in Spain.
• This region is recognised by the Spanish government as an ‘autonomous’ region within the Spanish federation.
• However, the leaders of the Basque Nationalist Movement are not satisfied with this autonomy.
• They want this region to become a separate country. Supporters of this movement have used constitutional and, till recently, violent means to press for this demand.
• Basque Nationalists say that their culture is very different from the Spanish culture. They have a language that does not resemble Spanish at all.
• Only one-third of the people in Basque understand that language today. The hilly terrain makes the Basque region geographically distinct from the rest of Spain.
• Ever since the Roman days, the Basque region never surrendered its autonomy to the Spanish rulers. Its systems of justice, administration and finance were governed by its unique arrangements.
•  The modern Basque Nationalist Movement started when, around the end of the nineteenth century, the Spanish rulers tried to abolish this unique political administrative arrangement.
• In the twentieth century, the Spanish dictator Franco further cut down this autonomy. He went as far as to ban the use of the Basque language in public places and even homes.
• These repressive measures have now been withdrawn. However, the leaders of the Basque movement continue to be suspicious of the motives of the Spanish government and fearful of the entry of ‘outsiders’ into their region.
• Their opponents say that Basque separatists are trying to make political gains out of an issue already resolved.

6. Nationalism Pluralism

• Considering the  ways by which different cultures and communities can survive and flourish within a country
• It is in pursuit of this goal that many democratic societies today have introduced measures for recognizing and protecting the identity of cultural minority communities living within their territory.
• The Indian constitution has an elaborate set of provisions for the protection of religious, linguistic and cultural minorities.
• While we need to acknowledge the claims of identity, we should be careful not to allow identity claims to lead to divisions and violence in society.
• We need to remember that each person has many identities. For instance, a person may have identities based on gender, caste, religion, language, or region, and may be proud of all of them.