What I observe that ongoing debate on Nation and Nationalism are also going to turn as electoral capital in coming 2024 election in one form or another forms. In fact, the various political groups have produced their own version of Nationalism. They are evolving their own versions of nationalism as political and electoral resource. To counter Hindutva lead cultural nationalism, the Congress and other parties of the oppositions have recrafted their own version of nationalism- which they are claiming as inclusive nationalism. They are selectively repeating the Nehruvian perception of Nationalism in contemporary political concept without any innovative changes to respond our Neo-liberal political time and context.
It is true that ‘Nation is one’ but the narratives of nationalism are multiple. Among multiple narratives of nationalisms, at least two versions of nationalisms are contesting with each other in current time. One is’ left-centrist version of nationalism’ which claims itself inclusive and other is rightist version of nationalism. The left- centrist version of nationalism claims itself inclusive nationalism and alleges rightist version of nationalism as exclusionary. To acquire legitimacy, the left -centrist version of nationalism associate itself with the legacy of freedom movement and tries to cut the cords of rightist version of nationalism with the nationalist past of the freedom movement. The Congress and I.N.D.I.A alliance appropriate left-centre narratives of the Nationalism as their own which has root in Nehruvian perception of Nationalism.
Recently I was a panellist in the discussion organised by Rajkamal publication, on the book on nationalism edited by historian Irfan Habib. What I observed that most of the scholars assembled there, were engaged in proving their own version of nationalism as inclusive and trying to prove other version of nationalism as rightist and exclusionary. They were trying to prove their own version of nationalism as people nationalism and rightist version of nationalism as communal and fanatic.
While engaging with these contesting arguments, I pursued bit different kind of argument in which I said-yes, the feeling of nationalism in its positive perception works as inspiring energy for the making and developing the nation. But owing from Benedict Anderson, I proposed it as imaginative domain. We forge our association with nation though an imaginative process. It means while imagining the nation, we make our nation real.
The nation appears for us by various symbols and we experience it while experiencing various symbols attached to it. So, nation as mother land, Desha, and eco-universe remains part of our every day life but its transformation as nationalism is closely linked with the rise of capacity to aspire for the nation among communities and people of the land. The developed section of society receives perception of nation and nationalism before underdeveloped section of society. Some of the left oriented activist against my submission argued that while saying it, we may undermine agency of marginals and they submit the participation of Dalit, tribals and marginals.
However, we know that subaltern historians through researches already established that the national movement against colonialism was mainly led by elite and aware section of society, the marginals participated due to various other reasons such as multiple influences and attractions of Gandhian image and their own existential concern for the land etc and also against various kinds of colonial oppressions and exploitations.
There is another process also where this capacity to aspire for nation becomes popular concern. we may observe in few cases where the communities displaced from the mother land as refugees or ruled by colonial powers acquire aspiration for the nation through the urge of regaining lost mother land or due to the urge of swarajya.
This capacity to aspire for the nation is not given process, it evolves. For its evolution and emergence there is need for a basic social-economic sustenance of the marginals and poor who are in largest number in Indian society. To aspire for sense of nationalism the poor and marginals who are Bahujan in society need to come out from their acute struggle for the bread and butter. So, expansion and dissemination of the sense of nationalism is closely weaved with socio-economic empowerment of the communities in the society like India.
For the socio-economic empowerment of the Bahujan(majority), we need to plan and implement developmental initiatives.PM Narendra Modi lead Bhartiya Janata Party may understand this need of waving development process with the process of nation making and grassroot dissemination of sense of nationalism. That is why these emergences of huge of number of beneficiaries may emerge as ‘public aspiring for nationalist perception’. So, the combination of development and sense of cultural nationalism together may strengthen the political base for the party like BJP in India.
The aggressive left and centrist friends some time miss the ranges of these well-planned efforts of PM Narendra Modi lead BJP which is working on the notion of making ‘holistic politics. ‘This holistic politics combines question of development, identity, representations, ecological and cu socio-cultural concerns and sense of nationalism as package.
The opposition yet fails to understand that this is not the time of doing bare politics of power through addressing some representational concern, this is the time where they have to respond the grand party like BJP who is constantly trying to expand horizon of politics through including socio-cultural, ecological and identity issue together not only in governance domain but also in mobilizational politics.
So, the fringe elements of right and excited activist of the left need to understand that perception of nation may travel with the process of developmental empowerment of communities. It is not an autonomous feeling. The feeling of nationalism may ideally reach to every one but in practice it is closely linked with the status of capacity to aspire for the nation especially among Bahujan of the society.
In coming 2024 election the nation and nationalism may appear as political electoral capital for both-NDA and I.N.D.I.A. but both need to expand their narrative of nationalism towards empowerment and development of Gareeb-guraba (marginal) which was identified by Mahatam Gandhi as last man of the society. It is needed to evolve inclusive nationalism in India what all the political section of India aspires and do claims and counter claims for it.