Question 6
a) Can we consider Nationalism as an Ideology
b) changing meanings and perspectives of nationalism in today's India? Comment in lieu of present conditions in the country.
(Hint: Nationalism or Hindutva Ideology, their relation, What is Ideology, Generic trend of ruling governments ideologies since independence, and other issues such as Cow slaughter ban, Liquor ban, Inclusion of bindi,bangles,sindoor in the ambit of GST and putting Sanitary Napkins in the list of Luxury items, Saharanpur riots, Triple talaq issue or uniform civil code issue, Sedition charges recently imposed, Debate of science and faith in the aftermath of rajasthan high court judges remarks on peacock statements.....issue of cow as national animal......etc,etc,etc.......)
b) changing meanings and perspectives of nationalism in today's India? Comment in lieu of present conditions in the country.
(Hint: Nationalism or Hindutva Ideology, their relation, What is Ideology, Generic trend of ruling governments ideologies since independence, and other issues such as Cow slaughter ban, Liquor ban, Inclusion of bindi,bangles,sindoor in the ambit of GST and putting Sanitary Napkins in the list of Luxury items, Saharanpur riots, Triple talaq issue or uniform civil code issue, Sedition charges recently imposed, Debate of science and faith in the aftermath of rajasthan high court judges remarks on peacock statements.....issue of cow as national animal......etc,etc,etc.......)
Ideology is defined as a coherent set of ideas which is believed to be true by a group or a community and used to either justify or denounce a group perspective on social or political structures. The chief foundation of ideology is thus both coherence of an idea and a structured group. In this regard, the conception of Nationalism as an Ideology is a problematic.
ReplyDeleteNationalism as an Ideology:
Nationalism evolved in 18th century Europe as a fallout of Industrial Revolution and changing social structures. For example, the intrusion of other European Powers into France after the French Revolution to reinstate the monarchy had the opposite effect, it enabled the people of France to identify as a common "French cultural group" and rally towards Napoleon's demagogic rise. The Napoleonic Wars in turn set off a domino effect in Europe and Nation States rose.
Nationalism as a State-of-Mind:
In modern context however, Nations and States are distinct entities, as Nation is a political entity based around a group of people who share a common identity, while State is a political entity that covers and controls a certain geographic territory recognized under international law. The Nationalist doctrine that seeks to reconcile States with Nations thus leads to ideologically driven narratives such as Zionism in Israel. Thus it may be construed as a State-of-Mind.
Therefore on one hand, Nationalism is called an "ideology of the weak" as it takes outside threats and violence to force a group of people to identify with a common cause. On the other hand Nationalism has as often created a group identity instead of being created by one. For example, Indian Nationalism rose as an answer to the economic exploitation by the British Empire and despite considerable differences in cultural identity, could forge a common cause of nationhood. Examples of such 'Nationalism' has also been documented even in Communist-Socialist States, for example Stalinist discourse moved away from the Internationalist approach of Communism and crafted a version of nationalist communism.
Therefore, if evaluated on the touchstone of coherent belief and group structure, Nationalism fails the test of Ideology. That is why Wallerstein condemns Nationalism as an anti-systemic reactionary movement instead of an ideology. Nevertheless, Nationalism has still been perceived as an ideology for the greater part of history.