Nationhood and the need for nationalism

Can there be nationhood without nationalism? And 70 years after Independence, is there still the need for nationalism as a binding factor?
This was the question that started the ‘Big Lit Fest Debate’ at the India Habitat Centre lawns on Sunday. On the panel were Pavan Varma, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Asaduddin Owaisi, Gopal Subramanian and Swapan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta said even though nationalism is perceived as archaic in an age of globalism, it still serves a cause in India.There are several ideas of India, each valid, Dasgupta said. “But we must not look at nationalism from the western prism. Cosmopolitanism can erode nationalism, but we see in India the forces of nationalism being strengthened,” Dasgupta said.
Varma said he partially agreed with Dasgupta, “but it requires a certain kind of alchemy to convert such a powerful force such as nationalism into a negative one”. “People are going around with a metaphorical syringe to draw out your blood to see how much nationalism you have. How can you doubt my nationalism? It can’t be a means to deflect focus from real issues. You can’t tell farmers who are committing suicide or people who have lost jobs to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ as a remedy. You cannot stifle my guaranteed right to disagree with you,” Varma said as the crowd gave its approval with thunderous applause.
He added that “there’s a new virus of competitive nationalism in India today”. “You can’t reduce something so sublime to such superficial trivialism.”
Singhvi said the kind of things that are happening in the country in the name of nationalism could have very dangerous consequences. “Take for instance the debate over the renaming of Dayal Singh College (Evening) into Vande Mataram College. This debate would exhaust itself before you move to the need for better facilities. In the name of nationalism, and with state encouragement, bizarre things are happening in the country. You are creating a Frankenstein that will hit back,” Singhvi said.
Owaisi said he believes in Indian nationalism that’s inclusive, accommodative and speaks of peaceful coexistence. Not Hindu nationalism. “Without social democracy, there can be no political or economic democracy,” Owaisi said, adding that those in power won’t understand it as their ideology was shaped by “Golwalkar whose patron saint was Sri Sri Adolf Hitler”.
Subramanian said the Constitution guarantees rights and freedoms so that “no big brother looks over your shoulder”.
Incidentally, Dasgupta also called the court order making it mandatory to play the National Anthem in theatres a “silly judgment”.