Indian nationalism

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The flag of India, which is often used as a symbol of Indian nationalism.

Indian nationalism is an instance of

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 and the Bangladesh Liberation War, Indian nationalism reached its post-independence peak. However by the 1980s, religious tensions reached a melting point and Indian nationalism sluggishly collapsed. Despite its decline and the rise of religious nationalism; Indian nationalism and its historic figures continue to strongly influence the politics of India and reflect an opposition to the sectarian strands of Hindu nationalism and Muslim nationalism.[1][2][3][4]

National consciousness in India

Mauryan Empire under Ashoka
.
The largest extent of the Gupta Empire

Ancient texts mention India under

emperor Bharata and Akhand Bharat, these regions roughly form the entities of modern-day greater India.[citation needed] The Maurya Empire was the first to unite all of India, and South Asia (including parts of Afghanistan).[5][dead link] In addition, much of India has also been unified under a central government by empires, such as the Gupta Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire, Pala Empire, Mughal Empire, Vijayanagara Empire, Maratha Empire, etc.[citation needed
]

Conception of Pan-South Asianism

India's concept of nationhood is based not merely on territorial extent of its sovereignty. Nationalistic sentiments and expression encompass that India's ancient history,

Indus Valley civilisation, as well as four major world religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Indian nationalists see India stretching along these lines across the Indian subcontinent.[citation needed
]

Ages of war and invasion

The Mughal Empire at its greatest extent, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The extent of Maratha Empire (yellow), without its vassals.

India today celebrates many kings and queens for combating foreign invasion and domination,

Laxmibai of Jhansi, Kittur Chennamma, Maharana Pratap of Rajputana, Prithviraj Chauhan and Tipu Sultan. The kings of Ancient India, such as Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka of the Magadha Empire, are also remembered for their military genius, notable conquests and remarkable religious tolerance
.

Akbar was a Mughal emperor, was known to have a good relationship with the Roman Catholic Church as well as with his subjects – Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains.[7] He forged familial and political bonds with Hindu Rajput kings. Although previous Sultans had been more or less tolerant, Akbar took religious intermingling to new level of exploration. He developed for the first time in Islamic India an environment of complete religious freedom. Akbar undid most forms of religious discrimination, and invited the participation of wise Hindu ministers and kings, and even religious scholars to debate in his court.

Colonial-era nationalism

Provisional Government of Free India
during the Second World War.

The consolidation of the

Madras and other areas across the south.[12]

Swadeshi

The controversial

1905 partition of Bengal escalated the growing unrest, stimulating radical nationalist sentiments and becoming a driving force for Indian revolutionaries.[13]

The Gandhian era

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan
brought together generations of Indians across regions and demographics, and provided a strong leadership base giving the country political direction.

More than just "Indian"

Indian nationalism is as much a diverse blend of nationalistic sentiments as its people are ethnically and religiously diverse. Thus the most influential undercurrents are more than just Indian in nature. The most controversial and emotionally charged fibre in the fabric of Indian nationalism is religion. Religion forms a major, and in many cases, the central element of Indian life. Ethnic communities are diverse in terms of linguistics, social traditions and history across India.[citation needed]

Hindu Rashtra

An important influence upon Hindu consciousness arises from the time of

K.B. Hedgewar founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Nagpur, Maharashtra, which grew into the largest civil organisation in the country, and the most potent, mainstream base of Hindu nationalism.[14]

Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Hindutva political demands include revoking Article 370 of the Constitution that grants a special semi-autonomous status to the Muslim-majority state of Kashmir, adopting a uniform civil code, thus ending a special legal frameworks for different religions in the country.[15] These particular demands are based upon ending laws that Hindu nationalists consider to be special treatment offered to different religions.[16]

The Qaum

In 1906–1907, the All-India Muslim League was founded, created due to the suspicion of Muslim intellectuals and religious leaders with the Indian National Congress, which was perceived as dominated by Hindu membership and opinions. However, Mahatma Gandhi's leadership attracted a wide array of Muslims to the independence struggle and the Congress Party. The Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia stand apart – the former helped form the Muslim league, while the JMI was founded to promote Muslim education and consciousness upon nationalistic and Gandhian values and thought.

While prominent Muslims like

Deobandi clerics strongly backed the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian independence struggle, opposing any notion of Muslim nationalism and separatism. The Muslim school of Indian nationalism failed to attract Muslim masses and the Islamic nationalist Muslim League enjoyed extensive popular political support. The state of Pakistan was ultimately formed following the Partition of India
.

Views on the partition of India

Indian nationalists led by

independent and united India.[18] The British Raj, however, sidelined the 'All India' organization from the independence process and came to see Jinnah, who advocated separatism, as the sole representative of Indian Muslims.[19] This was viewed with dismay by many Indian nationalists, who viewed Jinnah's ideology as damaging and unnecessarily divisive.[20]

In an interview with

Acharya Kripalani, President of the Congress during the days of Partition, stated that making India "a strong, happy, democratic and socialist state" would ensure that "such an India can win back the seceding children to its lap... for the freedom we have achieved cannot be complete without the unity of India."[25] Yet another leader of the Congress, Sarojini Naidu, said that she did not consider India's flag to be India's because "India is divided" and that "this is merely a temporary geographical separation. There is no spirit of separation in the heart of India."[26]

Giving a more general assessment, Paul Brass says that "many speakers in the Constituent Assembly expressed the belief that the unity of India would be ultimately restored."[27]

Nationalism and politics

Khalistan insurgency and Operation Blue Star
– a controversial blend of nationalism and hard politics.

The political identity of the

which has controlled the Congress since independence. The Congress Party's fortunes up till the 1970s were single-handedly propelled by its legacy as the flagship of India's Independence Movement, and the core platform of the party today evokes that past strongly, considering itself to be the guardian of India's independence, democracy and unity.

Muslims had remained loyal voters of the Congress Party for a long time, as Congress party protected Muslim community's interests like banning

Triple Talaq to continue.[29][30] Recently, Muslims have started abandoning Congress party in favor of other parties like Aam Adami Party (AAP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musilmeen (AIMIM). In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party employs a more aggressively nationalistic expression. The BJP seeks to preserve and spread the culture of the Hindus, the majority population. It ties nationalism with the defence of India's borders and interests against archrivals China and Pakistan
, with the defence of the majority's right to be a majority.

Religious nationalist parties include the

dalit Hindus in the northern, and most populated states of India like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
. Almost every Indian state has a regional party devoted solely to the culture of the native people of that state.

See also

References

  1. . Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  2. ^ Acharya, Shiva. "Nation, Nationalism and Social Structure in Ancient India By Shiva Acharya". Sundeepbooks.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Mahrattas, Sikhs and Southern Sultans of India : Their Fight Against Foreign Power/edited by H.S. Bhatia". Vedamsbooks.com. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  4. ^ Mitra 2006, p. 63
  5. ^ Croitt & Mjøset 2001, p. 158
  6. ^ Desai 2005, p. xxxiii
  7. ^ Desai 2005, p. 30
  8. ^ a b Yadav 1992, p. 6
  9. ^ Bose & Jalal 1998, p. 117
  10. ^ "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh | History, Ideology, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. ^ "What is Uniform Civil Code?". Jagranjosh.com. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  12. ^ "WHAT IS UNIFORM CIVIL CODE". Business Standard. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. ^ Hardgrave, Robert. "India: The Dilemmas of Diversity", Journal of Democracy, pp. 54–65
  14. .
  15. ^ Raj Pruthi, Paradox of Partition: Partition of India and the British strategy, Sumit Enterprises (2008), p. 444
  16. ^ Sankar Ghose, Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography, Allied Publishers (1993), pp. 160-161
  17. ^ Raj Pruthi, Paradox of Partition: Partition of India and the British strategy, Sumit Enterprises (2008), p. 443
  18. ^ Graham Chapman, The Geopolitics of South Asia: From Early Empires to the Nuclear Age, Ashgate Publishing (2012), p. 326
  19. ^ V.P. Menon, The Transfer of Power in India, Orient Blackswan (1998), p. 385
  20. ^ G. C. Kendadamath, J.B. Kripalani, a study of his political ideas, Ganga Kaveri Pub. House (1992), p. 59
  21. ^ Constituent Assembly Debates: Official Report, Volume 4, Lok Sabha secretariat, 14 July 1947, p. 761
  22. ^ Paul R. Brass, The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge University Press (1994), p. 10
  23. ^ Flood, Alison (1 December 2015). "Banning Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses was 'wrong' says Indian minister". The Guardian.
  24. ^ "Shah Bano vs Triple Talaq: Congress 1986 vs Congress 2017". The Times of India. 29 December 2017.
  25. ^ "Character of Nehruvian Secularism". Bharatvani.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  26. ^ "Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Vijaykanth slams Dravidian parties". The Hindu. 8 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2011.

Bibliography

External links