An idea can be described as a conceptual framework through which we try to perceive or visualize some event or thought in order to give it a specific shape and dimension. When we talk about "Idea of India"; we tend to encounter many theories and constructs about it -given by many thinkers, scholars, leaders and many great people,even foreigners from far off land like China, Middle East,Europe and Africa.This piece of article is also a humble 'democratic' attempt to present 'my version' of idea of an India-which has been shaped by my inner thoughts about this country in recent years-though it can not be of the same level of intellectual depth.
Most of the time, when we speak of country or nation as India-its always get connected in terms of nationalism, historical glorious past or modern freedom struggle and related events of brave sacrifices encompassing our 'tryst with destiny'. Its also possible that the discourse about India may get into some political landscape citing some specific issues related with political parties and their ideologies.Though, these issues and matters related to a country are very important but there is something which we miss in this attempt to construct our idea. But before going into the issues in the interpretation of 'indianness' lets try to discuss what has been the factors which has shaped us as a society and as a nation.
We as a country has had a rich cultural past which can be supported by many literary as well architectural sources we have. Geographically, though, we are protected by almost all sides by mountain and seas; but still we have been attacked by many invaders-mostly via North West mountain passes. Few plundered and looted us and went back but few stayed here, ruled us, mingled with us and influenced our socio-economic consciousness.These influences have been of mix outcome-which can be interpreted by scholars and historians in different ways. We are not here to academically assess such 'influences' but just to have a cursory glance of the historical journey this nation has taken.Though, there can be difference of opinion on many historical interpretations, but there is no debate on the fact that we have been challenged by outsiders repeatedly and this has shaped our consciousness in many ways. But somehow, we as a society survived and have largely kept ourselves ready to take on the challenges whenever any outside attempt has been ever made.
The real and somehow 'modern' picture of a nation got shaped during the freedom struggle against Britishers since 19th century culminating into our independence by first half of twentieth century.Nationalism wave succeeded in taking our freedom back, albeit, at the cost of a bloodshed soaked land divided along the communal line. We got independence as a political victory but social and economic freedom still remained a challenge for new born nation. Governments were formed and run on agendas of removing poverty, imparting education, creation of self-sufficient nation in terms of food security and securing borders to keep country safe from any foreign infiltration or attacks.
Today after seventy years after independence, we can say we have achieved many milestones- at least in terms of increasing literacy or pulling millions of people from abject poverty and making huge success in science and technology. We have also been one of the most successful countries in utilizing the opportunities unleashed by globalization resulting into us becoming one of the fastest growing economies of the world. This has also been possible due to growing market in India, rising income, expanding middle class and obviously - by the efforts by successive governments.
So what next now? We are aspiring nation making our marks in almost all spheres of international arena. We have robust economic prospects, vibrant functioning democracy, one of the youngest countries of the world -large workforce and ever growing international political role. Largely; this country has a promising future-when we look from outside of it -from the map of the world. But, to me, there are serious challenges this country is facing internally; which may or may not be visible from 'outside' which I will discuss now.
It is said that whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true! The premise upon which this argument can be founded is the the fact the we have a very diverse society and culture which can not be clubbed under a single overarching idea. For example a person from North India is not just vastly different from South India in terms of language,color but also in race.(Aryan vs Dravidian race?). For people outside from North East India- NE as a region is a 'single' geographical entity but internally there are sharp distinctions within this land - culturally and ethnically. For example-Nagas and Assamese may be said to be as different as Punjabis and Bengalis! If we take the religion as a distinction; we have had varied faiths on this land for centuries- thriving and complementing each other in every walk of life. Similar arguments can be made on the matters of language, caste, ethnicity and gender. The good part of the journey of the India has been to accommodate these stark distinctions within the overarching theme of 'being Indian'- though many challenges have been put before us which tried to dismantle this idea but we have tried our best to shield this identity of the nation by various political,economic and socio-religious efforts. But have we done enough? Answer is probably 'not'...
We are the largest growing economy of the world, we look good statistically on World Bank and IMF report cards but do we look good when our newborns died in Gorakhpur hospital this year due to lack of oxygen? Do we look nice when even infants are sexually assaulted leave alone girls and women? Do we sound 'modern' when diktats are issued for women, dalits and minorities as to how they should dress or eat? Perhaps the answer is still 'not'. We as society watch these happening right across our streets and neighborhood but we dont react unless these 'directly' impact us- which is again the reflection of our narrow conceptualization of India. By nationalism we mean only securing our border or giving befitting reply to our enemies but we shut our eyes when girls are raped, children die of hunger, when a hearse is not arranged for a person to carry his daughter's body. We think these are not elements of nationalism but we should always remember that nationalism is not just about having nuclear arsenal, keeping the second largest armed forces but also being attentive of whats happening inside our homes, our society and country and taking effective action or at least raising voices. Minimum, at least we can have 'thoughts' on these events!
To be educated is seen as what professional course you have undertaken and then what and how much you are able to earn-there is no attempt neither in academic institutions nor even at home to understand what is meant by being 'educated'. To me, an 'illiterate' person is more educated if he lends his hand for a road accident victim just out of compassion than a literate and so called educated person who thinks he might get late for the meeting if he does so. So what if the more literate person has not helped the victim, someone else did-but then; Is it for this 'reasoning' we call ourselves educated? We may become educated passing exams and courses but it requires sound reasoning to justify that education. Obviously, having a source of livelihood is the primary factor for having education but lets not keep this as the sole reason for education! Parents and teachers have a bigger role to play here- lets not keep it limited to score cards and percentiles-there are big battles ahead which cant be just won by the weapons of mark sheets and degrees!
It is said that India lives in villages where around seventy percent of our population lives. This population largely survives on agriculture and allied activities. Right after independence we are hearing issues about agriculture like non-realization of fair prices for farmers' produce, less productivity, irrigation, procurement and what not! Almost all issues are either at similar level or even at worse levels even today. So what is the reason behind it? Successive governments came and went after asking for votes and making promises-but nothing changed! Still farmers are committing suicides due to weak monsoon or lack of better marketing mechanisms. But have we not forgotten the suicides in Marathwada and Vidarbha region in last two to three years and got ourselves engaged in issues of Padmavati and Kanagana Ranaut? So not addressing the concerns of around two -third of our population cant be termed as being anti-nationalist? Or the people who boast themselves of being patriotic - are they also not responsible in not keeping these issues in their light 'basket of nationalism' which largely is filled with rhetoric about vande mataram and surgical strikes?
These new age nationalists are also 'educated' fellows who dont even know India's recent past and issues leave alone the idea of India. But somehow they are gushing with 'energy' to show the world who we are! There is a need to understand that we have had also been a rationalist society since the times of Vedic age, Mahabharata and so on-we have literary proofs to support this notion in form of Bhagwat Gita or Arthashastra or many accounts by scholars which I am sure can be discussed and substantiated if need arises. Nationalism should be based on some idea and reasoning - it can not be based on herd mentality and following some political ideologies. These narrow conceptions of nationalism are the agents of erosion of the values of India which is rooted in its past-we have always been an inclusive society and have largely been successful in upholding it. If it is said we have some 'solitary' identity which we all - whether one likes or not - have to adopt because that is being propagated as truth - then there is an attack on the idea of India in the name of upholding its 'integrity' and 'cultural heritage'. I dont have any concerns with anybody's idea of India but it should be and must be accepted on the ground of reasoning and healthy debates/discussions.
We are also living in the age of information where within second we come to know about any incident happening in any part of the world. Social media is one of the "engines" to drive these continuous train of information before us-whether we like it or not-we have it! It is said that we are living in the post-truth era where the importance is not given to being something as truth but rather to something being as sensational and evocative! It serves the purpose of many, I believe, but certainly it does not serve the society and nation well. We, as an individual, have been reduced as someone who just 'reacts' on something thrown before us and can not show the courage to check the authenticity and rationality of the event. We have witnessed the cases where people share fake messages, morphed images and 'viral' videos just to make their points valid even if it degenerates into some larger social catastrophe! Are not these people also can be called as anti-nationalists who are engaged in attacking the fabric of our nation just to serve their own shallow vision of some life or identity or even country? The information age is better utilized to serve true national interest if proper reasoning is involved and not mere random thoughts and data are propagated in whataboutery of some event.
Before I conclude, I would also like to touch upon the current political discourse of our nation which many believe is quite unprecedented and here as well - we have extreme divergent opinions. Many people have firm belief that with the advent of current 'leadership' of ruling party at the center India is poised to redeem it glorious rich cultural past and help take off India as powerful country in the global landscape. At the same time there is another school of thought which believes that the current political 'hegemony' is responsible for taking India into one of the dark days of democracy and it is also being 'charged' of attacking the secular and inclusive identity of India. I have a slightly different opinion on this- I believe these two extremes are equally biased and flawed. At the outset, let me ask one fundamental question- who will decide what has been the rich cultural identity of India or what can be called as 'dark days'? If the political parties have to decide- they will take their own 'versions' of India to suit their political obligations and compulsions-as has been the case in many countries of world in the wave of nationalism-be it Germany or Italy. What we need is not superimposing of one's idea of India onto others but respecting theirs ideas too. Certainly it does not mean one can be illegal and unconstitutional in this attempt of propagating one's 'idea' of nation(as we have seen in recent pasts).Why we need debates and discussions on this and not superimposition? because we are not a monolithic society as Europe or Asian countries or Islamic republics- we are diverse society and any meta-narrative to confine the notion of this great nation can be detrimental to the ideals of this country.
To me, Idea of India is the journey from me and myself to we and Us- A journey which transcends the distinct identities and still consider ourselves as "one". To recognize the differences and still respect them and not let them come in way of cherishing the ideals of this country.To me, my country is not a 'box' into which people can be shoved based on some narrow categorization and if someone is not 'fit' enough - to be thrown out! To me, being a reasoned human being comes first before calling myself by some distinct 'identity'.
We are living in challenging times -not just us but whole world is in flux; looking for some alternative sense of identity. People are perplexed and their sense of identity is under constant challenge. What is needed is a sense of brotherhood among people cutting across any number of identities- just based on humanity! Lets not reduce us into an uncritical and irrational animal existence-lets remain reasoned and rational! Lets keep our idea of India aloof from from these shallow identities founded on hatred and victimization. Lets be brave and face it!
Long live India!!!
