Serving armed forces officer tells us how to save the nation from pseudo-nationalism

If the devil can cite scripture for his purpose, then our pseudo-nationalists cite the constitution, the sedition law and their own litmus tests for the purpose, writes the officer

A Concerned Citizen* 

India is an old country but a young nation-state. Sixty-six years is not much in the life of a nation but ours already seems to require geriatric care, if it is to keep its health and live long.

It is a melancholic thought and persists like an earworm, questioning the blind faith that India has survived the worst and will sail through even these times. Well, I pass the present litmus test of being nationalistic; I did a stint at Siachen and am still serving in the armed forces — as if fighting your enemies physically is the only and ultimate test of patriotism.

Now you too can do that anywhere, including the heart of Delhi, as you are even licensed to kill once you have identified the anti-nationals and traitors. Assuaging your guilt of not having served the nation was never so easy.

Today we wonder how we as a nation ever came to such a state:  Mad in India, as Ankur Bhardwaj titled his column in the Business Standard. It was an insidious process. After partition and independence, the right continued to profess its ideology—a consistent set of beliefs—through its organised network, tactically putting its core beliefs into background only temporarily, when the need arose. We unconsciously talked in its idiom of homogenised groups having common interests—us vs them, Hindus vs Muslims—especially in the elections.

As an oddity, the post independence rise of the right mirrors the rise of the Congress during the Indian national movement. The extremists were having an upper hand over the moderates, and from a sideshow of the elite, Gandhi turned Congress in to a mass movement. But it gained its own momentum as people of all hues joined it and it turned violent by 1942, followed by naval mutiny and formation of INA by Subhas Bose. Gandhi had not changed but the movement had. In fact, all mass movements progressively become more aggressive. In that sense, the right is in this phase—its apogee or nadir.

Post independence the Indian elite again abdicated its role; the right slowly occupied the space vacated by others. The moderate right has moved from the fringes into the mainstream politics and become acceptable despite its exclusivist ideology; for now, the periphery populated by extremist, aggressive, loony elements is pushing itself into mainstream.

More than two decades ago, the right representing the Hindutva ideology weakened the nation when it manipulated the discourse on secularism, renaming it as pseudo-secularism. It upended, dominated the discourse, and connected with the masses. After all, the Goebbelian principle of telling a ‘lie big enough’, arguments ‘crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect’ works every time, everywhere. The demolition of Babri mosque and linguistic sophistry created a winning formula for the right: create an issue out of non-issue, take extreme positions without any shades of grey, hijack the narrative, achieve polarisation and create groundswell.

Wherever needed, invent customs and traditions, codes of morality, new facts and other as an enemy. Since the mandir formula expired, an overarching development formula replaced it. It is not only that economic development seems to be floundering, so another new one is churned out. It is the ideology of the foot soldiers. The erstwhile self-appointed guardians of Hinduism metamorphosed into self-appointed protectors of the nation.

In phase one, fight against secularism, the rightist ideology found a fertile ground in the process of Sanskratisation : the lower and the middle classes who desired upward social mobility acted more pietistic than others and joined wholeheartedly in the mandir movement. And a large number, whose Ram is the antithesis of what the rightist ideology represents, were duped. A blend of rising religiosity, crass commercialism and alienation among the youth only aided this.

Now in phase two, fight against liberalism and pluralism, the rightist ideology again finds a fertile ground in the patriotic sentiments of the fellow citizens. After all the constitution of India is the only holy book, as we were reminded. But just as in monotheistic religions, an apostate or a blasphemous one pays with his life, here too, the traitors will not be spared. If the devil can cite scripture for his purpose, then our pseudo-nationalists cite the constitution, the sedition law and their own litmus tests for the purpose.

Nationalism can be an equally, if not more, potent feeling than religion in whipping our emotions. Even a pious devotee of Ram does not condone Vibhishana for betraying his country and family, despite the latter’s loyalty to Ram, just as others cannot pardon Jaichand and MirJafar—the traitors.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan tapped into this feeling when he stood in front of star and stripes—the symbolism gives you legitimacy. Back at home, even AAP included cries of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Matram in their public meetings, while the right fumed at the violation of its intellectual property rights.

Majority are swept in the pseudo-nationalist wave: a more nationalistic than thou attitude. Let us not be duped into wearing patriotism on our sleeves. A section of lawyers displayed that in Patiala House court; even journalists and electronic media have joined the bandwagon. Some used the recent tragedy at Siachen to present a false dichotomy between soldiers safeguarding the nation with their lives and scholars hell-bent on destroying it. The right is already dominating the narrative on the ground. The defence veterans marched in Delhi opposing the anti-national elements in the JNU campus. Indulging in competitive patriotism by pseudo nationalists will deal another blow to res publica.

The country will survive, yet the nation state may not. Let us recognise pseudo nationalism for what it is, boycott it, and oppose it on the ground. Otherwise, it may be too late to redeem the republic.

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*The author is a member of the armed forces and wishes to be anonymous.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/saving-the-nation-from-pseudo-nationalism-116022200189_1.html