EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
“The Constitution makers faced the great task of forging a common national identity in the face of unparalleled social and cultural diversity in India.” Comment.(UPSC CSE Mains 2021 - Political Science and International Relations, Paper 1)
- We are a multitude of peoples – we are not one people. We have many sub-identities, these identities are based on our differences. This is a key attribute of these identities: national identity; religious identity; class identity; regional identity; professional identity; tribal or clan identity.
- “Constitutional nationalism” has several features.
- The first is the maintenance of secular character. When we merge national identity with a particular form of religious identity – it leads to othering a host of people. That is why maintenance of neutrality or secular character is of essential importance, because that characteristic is what gives each of us the space to live our unique lives and different identities.
- The second feature of constitutional nationalism is that it gives us a code to negotiate differences, and pursue the common goals of peace, progress, prosperity. These are all fundamental goals that have motivated every human society since we existed as a species. This code is crafted through an elaborate system contained in the preamble, our fundamental rights and the directive principles, and continues into the checks and balances that keep different arms of the state accountable to each other and the people.
- The third feature of constitutional nationalism is that it requires citizens to practice citizenship everyday. Citizenship rights are the glue that binds us together, the common journey we undertake. These rights take on many forms, such as the right to freedom, not just our own, but also that of others, ensuring that everyone has space to exercise their individualities. Or upholding a civic code where we do not instigate, perpetuate, or otherwise condone, othering. Or where we ask questions of the government, preventing the state from becoming a carrier of hegemonic tendencies. We contest and debate. We vote.
- The fourth feature of constitutional nationalism is the creation of a syncretic culture. When we speak of things like these, we need to add one important caveat, that this story of constitutional nationalism, of this artificial, neutral, negotiable, identity we have gifted ourselves, was penned only in 1950. We are, therefore, by all means, very much still a young country. Contestations over identity creation are still happening, and things are still in turmoil. This was not unanticipated by the Constitution, for the powers that it grants – of negotiation and contestation – allow some very interesting things to happen. When diverse sub-cultures live together, negotiating their differences in a peaceful and harmonious fashion, over time, the country becomes a site of confluence, and our individual identities undergo evolutionary changes, in an organic fashion. This is also an element of constitutional nationalism – because this confluence and change is made possible by the coexistence of our diverse cultures as negotiated by the Constitution.
- All of these diversities exist because of multilingualism and multiculturalism, and arguably, what binds all of us is “Indianness”, which is the outcome of our allegiance to the Indian Constitution.
- The strength of a nation is not gauged by the uniformity of opinion of its citizens or a public profession of patriotism. The true strength of a nation is when there is no threat from citizens expressing revolutionary views; when there is a free and open press that can criticise the government; and when citizens do not resort to violence against fellow citizens merely for expressing a contrary view or for just being different. That is when we will be truly free, and we will become the nation that our constitution builders envisioned for us – secular, democratic and free.
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