Western Nationalism: An imposed idea on INDIA

‘Afzal hum sharminda hein

Tere qatil zinda hain’

‘Tum kitne Afzal maaroge?

Har ghar se Afzal niklega’

‘Bharat tere tukde honge

Inshaallah, Inshallah’

This slogan was raised by Kanhaiya Kumar at the heart of India's capital. What they forget to understand is the other side of the fact that unfortunately India already has excessive unwanted azadi.

•Azadi to fight for terrorists

•Azadi to sell the country’s interests to CPC, China

•Azadi to mock Hindu festivals

•Azadi to crack jokes on Hindu Gods

•Azadi to compromise on National Security

•Azadi  to oppose Hindi language

•Azadi to control temples

•Azaadi to distort history

•Azadi to ……..BREAK INDIA shows that there is a serious problem of psychological unity among us. 

Defaming Indian Nationalism

Nationalism is a much-maligned concept today at least in the leftist Marxist-dominated media and academia. With nationalism, Rashtriyata has also earned a bad name for itself. Firstly, nationalism is accused of causing wars. Because nationalists see it as their solemn duty to defend their nation and its identity, Hence nationalists are considered to be very conservative and pragmatic. It is also believed that nationalists evoke their ancient past which boils into hatred to organize violence. Secondly, when we talk about nationalism there are other words which often find mentioned i.e authoritarianism…autocratic rule…fascism…. Nationalists are accused of being intolerant, suppressing cultural diversity, they exclude other religious minorities. etc. Here we find mention of Hitler, Mussolini..currently Modiji, etc.Thirdly nationalists are accused of sidelining minorities and how they knockdown communal bonds to fragment the nation. 

Western Nationalism: A Skewed Idea

If we talk about the history of Western Nationalism, it begins in the 17th century during European Reformation when countries got free from the controlling religious authorities. And then came World War I when the US, UK, France, and Germany were hailed as the guardians of nationalism. And then came the idea of nation-states i.e streamlining the aspirations of people through political setup. Next is the history of Britain which spans only 200 years. In 1707 there happened the integration of Scotland, Wales, and England which was together called Great Britain. Even after coming together, they had different laws and separate churches. And then in 1801 Great Britain annexed Ireland after a long bloody conflict in which the Catholics of Ireland did not approve of the arrangement and emerged as the Republic of Ireland in 1922. America’s history is also likewise. When in 1776 during American Revolution 13 British colonies declared independence from the British, eventually Texas and California too joined the union. By the year 2000, the unity of the US was shaken when many other issues came to the forefront related to ethnicity, gender, and race. The Hispanic influx challenged America’s linguistic and cultural unity. In Africa, the entire redrawing of boundaries and partitioning was done by Britishers in the absence of any representative from Africa. Similarly, Turkey, Egypt, and Mexico don't have a long and rich ancient civilizational heritage to boast of.

So we can conclude that their limited idea on nationalism was based on the these failed brief models (political, cultural, and religious conflicts) fought. And with the same western lens, they declared that India was never a nation. Yes, Sir John Strachey, a member of the Council of the Secretary of State of the British government, wrote this in 1888. In fact, Simon Commission when came to India declared India as a conglomeration of races and religions.

Endeavor to define Nationalism

Still, Western scholars attempted to define nation and nationalism just 2 centuries back. But the term is yet not defined. G.P Gooch says, “Nationalism is the child of the French Revolution”. On the other side, John Oaksmith says “What people feel more sacred and dominating inspiration in life.” Arnold Toynbee says “it is the subjective psychological feeling in living people.” Lastly Hans Kohn says "it is the process of integration of masses into a political form.” The definition got more confusing League of Nations said, “state” and “nation” are the same. 

Features of Western Nationalism

Western nationalism is based on selfishness and individualism. It was defined based on the conflicts and struggles of religion, culture, and politics. Secondly, the supremacy of the church never allowed the people to look beyond religion hence their connection with land, soil, unity, and culture remained a far-fetched dream. Lastly, western nationalism is reactionary in nature. Only when it is faced by challenges do they talk about nationalism for eg. during covid crises, or when there was an influx of refugees, illegal immigration, or collapse of globalization etc.

On the contrary, Bharat believes in the ethos of Rashtra and Rashtriyata which is about inclusiveness, emphasizes on a spiritual connection with bhumi devi, presence of conscious citizens, and freedom of thought and self-realization.

We shall be discussing Rashtriyata in our next blog.

Till then stay tuned..!!