Slogans don't make for nationalism or anti-nationalism: Thapar

New Delhi, Jul 29 () Nationalism cannot be reduced merely to waving flags, shouting slogans or penalising people for not uttering 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', it requires a far greater commitment to attending to the needs of the nation, says eminent historian Romila Thapar. Sloganeering or flag waving smack of a lack of confidence among those making the demand for slogans, she writes in a new book 'On Nationalism', a compilation of three essays by Thapar, lawyer AG Noorani and cultural commentator Sadanand Menon published by Aleph Book Company. "Nationalism had, and has, much to do with understanding one’s society and finding one’s identity as a member of that society. It cannot be reduced merely to waving flags and shouting slogans and penalising people for not shouting slogans like harat Mata ki Jai'. This smacks of a lack of confidence among those making the demand for slogans," she says. "Nationalism requires a far greater commitment toattending to the needs of the nation rather than sloganeering,and that too with slogans focusing on territory or ones thathave a limited acceptability."As was recently said, it is indeed ironic that an Indianwho refuses to shout this slogan is immediately declared asanti-national, but an Indian who has deliberately not paid histaxes or stashed away black money is not declared as such,"she argues.According to Thapar, the question of what is national andwhat is anti-national does depend on what is understood bynationalism."A commitment to the nation if it encourages concern forand an ethical attitude towards other citizens of the samenation is always commended. However, this should not beexpressed by vicious hostility towards neighbouring nations asalso happens."Hostility, in particular situations, has to be temperedwith reason and this is one difference between good governanceand bad. Nationalism, therefore, cannot be without its limitsand the limits have to be carefully worked out," she writes.Thapar suggests that concepts of nations based on a singleexclusive identity - religious, linguistic, ethnic and similarsingle identities - are actually pseudo-nationalisms andshould be precluded from being called nationalism, without theaccompanying qualifier of their identity.According to her, history in India has become the arena ofstruggle between the secular nationalists and those endorsingvarieties of religious or pseudo-nationalisms."Nationalist historical writing visualised history assupportive of the interlinking of the communities thatconstituted Indian society. Occasionally there were deviationsfrom this when a particular religious community was givengreater centrality than was appropriate to a nationalistperspective. MORE ZMNANS