My greetings to all on 71st Independence Day 2017.

Nationalism

India is going through a Renaissance of a kind. A heated debate is going on on various subjects which were a kind of taboo as Main Stream Media (MSM) chose to ignore it. The result was that MSM not only lost TRP but also it’s status of fourth estate. Real debate shifted to the new fourth estate social media. News papers are now reporting what is already on facebook or twitter. Occasionally blogs also found mentioned.

For one section of society Nationalism is now hyper-nationalism for another it means a sectional agenda. Therefore it would be better to step back and reconsider.

What is right amount of nationalism?

Once a philosopher said rather wrote:

“What is a nation? A line drawn on a map? A piece of cloth hung up on a pole?”

From where he was speaking he could be right. But ordinary mortals have to actually live in an atmosphere called “rule of law”. Without a right environment human society can decay. It has happened before. It is happening now in many erstwhile countries in the middle east.

So that piece of cloth is an umbrella under which rule of law exists and that line drawn on the map is the wall which protects you from the hostile expansionist neighbors.

It may be very intellectual to visualize a world without boundaries and all humanity as one. As ancient Sanatan Dharma called “Vasudeva Kutumbkam” (meaning world is a family) but the fact is that we live in an intensely violent environment. Look at Middle East especially Yemen or Libya, rather the erstwhile Ottoman Empire. For 100 years since first world war, it is simmering and often gets explosive. Romanticism is good but look at your own history.

Which country in the world remained under foreign occupation for the longest period of time?

India was under foreign occupation for last 800 years. Rulers were from outside and they raised armies from native people to fight their war. Actually Mughal rules about 54% of total Area. British raised it further to about 76% or so. Rajasthan, the largest State, was never occupied and remained a protectorate under Mughal. Punjab could not be won by Mughal. British made it more complicated. Maratha in the west, had more area under them then Mughal. Yet the fact remain that large area was under occupation.

Truth is, to call India a country was a little far-fetched around 100 years back. Now it is not. British in their anger tried best to ensure that India may suffer anarchy when it left behind 570 or so sovereign rulers and States in 1947.

Now that we have established as a country or seventy years despite 100 or so so different ethnicity, cultures, languages. Lets accept it. We could not survive as divided and we will not survive in future. Let’s make India a nation.

It is practical to be a nationalist. Be nationalist and support the habitat. If you can’t, go to the place of your love.

Nationalism is accepting in principle a Union of India and pledging to support it. If you act like your ancestors who fought wars for Mughal or British, you will be treated as traitor. Your ancestors were let off by default but you will not be.

It does not matter how you fight for enemies of India. By pen or tongue or stone. You are anti-national.

A breakfast party on the occasion of Independence Day, going on in a local Garden: