Nationalism In A Democracy

A point of view.

- Priyanka Bidua

I am a millennial. An engineer with an MBA, I went through most of my education from Aligarh Muslim University. As a Brahmin girl, in my growing years, I got accustomed to this new culture with not so many adjustments. With a majority of my fellow students being Muslim I never felt out of place, and in fact, I now cherish that time as being the most captivating, which added a bigger realm to me while exposing me to a different culture and religion than mine. It was the same environs which instilled the first seeds of nationalism in me.

The celebrations of Independence Day, Republic Day and singing of the national anthem, and the unfurling of the flag and the subsequent distribution of sweets. The hostel mess cooked special food that day. All this revelry made a little girl staying in the hostel feel festive. Gandhi Jayanti, children’s day was followed by more festivity with stories of national heroes being narrated and movies being shown to us. Just like any other kid studying in some institution these were my introductory years to the feeling of belongingness to the nation. The feeling of love and pride for India irrespective of any biases.

I grew up to settle as a professional, embedded with the perception of nationalism as me doing whatever duty is assigned to the best of my capacity. But lately, I started to be less and less sure of my own sense of patriotism. I realized this feeling creeping inside me with my exposure to social media, TV debates, newspapers and the discussions within my own family. It was as if the very foundation of the nationalistic feeling inside me becoming skeptical. The patriot in me felt maligned with inferiority as I watched TV debates where nothing remained pious.