Valuable addition in the ongoing debate on Nationalism
Authors: Romila Thapar, A. G. Noorani and Sadanand Menon
Publisher: ALEPH
Price: Rs. 399
Everybody now talks about Nationalism without really understanding the true meaning of it. Today If someone criticizes government’s policies, then he or she is labeled as anti-national. It is necessary to understand what Nationalism is, what pseudo-nationalism is, what is anti-national, what patriotism is and what our great freedom fighters thought about it. The recent book On Nationalism comprising three essays brilliantly written by Romila Thapar, A. G. Noorani and Sadanand Menon throws light on the politically sensitive issue. It is a timely and contributes in a big way in the ongoing debate on nationalism.
While emphasizing that it is necessary to publish such kind of book, publisher David Davidar in his foreword writes, “ We need to constantly remind ourselves that the only way for India to survive and thrive is to continue to be the open, inclusive country that our founding fathers fought to bring into being, and that all of us inherited at birth. That is why this book is published.”
Romila Thapar is a leading historian. In her essay Reflections on Nationalism and History, she says,” We understood nationalism to be Indian nationalism and not Hindu or Muslim or any other kind of religious or other nationalism, and a clear distinction was made between nationalism and other loyalties.” Author talks of Indian nationalism, which is inclusive and above small identities like religion, caste, ethnicity and region.
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in his Nationalism, first published in 1917, writes ‘The nation is the greatest evil,’ and states ‘It is my conviction that my countrymen will gain truly their India by fighting against that education which teaches them that a country is greater than the ideals of humanity.’ Tagore also bluntly said that nationalism is a great menace in the prolonged debates over it in his novel Gora (1910) as well as in his essays like East and West or Swadeshi Samaj. It is a particular thing which for years has been at the bottom of India’s troubles. Tagore was clear in his mind about nationalism. He had high regards for Mahatma Gandhi but had serious differences with him on nationalism. Tagore warned Gandhi against the danger of nationalism. A couple of decades later Tagore cautioned against rabid nationalism. Albert Einstein referred ‘nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.’
Noted historian, lawyer and author A G Noorani in his essay Nationalism and its contemporary discontents in India gives details of history of law of sedition. The law is now debated in a big way since the arrest of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar in February 2016. Earlier, Dr. Binayak Sen was arrested under the same act. The act was introduced by Britishers to silence Indian freedom fighters. Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak and so many other leaders were arrested under the draconian law. Jawaharlal Nehru, first PM of India, never wanted such kind of law in Independent India. It did not figure in the Constitution. Noorani writes, “As early as in Romesh Thapar vs state of Madras Justice Sastri had drawn pointed attention to the deliberate omission of sedition in the Constitution.” A full bench of three judges of the Allahabad High Court unanimously held section 124A ultra vires to the Constitution and said it restricts freedom of speech in Ram Nandan vs state in 1958. Ram Nandan was fighting for the cause of farmers and agricultural labourers was charged with sedition in UP in 1954. Supreme Court overruled these rulings in 1962. In Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar case five judge bench of the Supreme Court upheld sedition as Constitutional. It also upheld restrictions on freedom of expression.
Sadanand Menon’s essay is From National Culture to Cultural Nationalism. He is a cultural scholar and says National Culture and Cultural Nationalism are not the same. He writes,” A nation that, at some point, lets it political primacy be eroded and overrun by cultural nationalism can be construed to be on the verge of an implosion. India is today on the edge of such an implosion.” In keeping with the agenda of cultural nationalism we find hatred for the rights as guaranteed in the Indian constitution. He says,” Cultural nationalism, by any definition, is a rogue version of nationalism which is already present in concepts of the nation state.” Menon argues,” The journey from the initial attempts to construct a national culture, which was not sufficiently contested with respect to its Hindutva flavor, has progressively delivered us into the courtyard of cultural nationalism.”
The book is a valuable addition in the ongoing debate on nationalism. It talks of pluralism which is the foundation of Indian nationalism. Mere criticizing government policies do not make someone anti-national. The book gives details on the difference between nation and a state. Romila Thapar, A G Noorani and Sadanand Menon are finest Indian thinkers and they have provided us measured insights into the origins, nature, practice and future of Indian nationalism.
