On 72nd Independence Day, India must introspect; there are better ways to express nationalism than chest-thumping

Josh Malihabadi once wrote: “Hashr tak rehne na dena tum Dakkan ki khaak mein, Dafn karna apne shaayar ko watan ki khaak mein  (Oh my country! Do not let me remain in the soils of the Deccan till the Day of Reckoning, bury your poet in the soil of his land — Malihabad, Uttar Pradesh) And then, the man ultimately emigrated to Pakistan, many years after Partition, under Congress rule. This becomes relevant today, when all those who dissent on any issue from the BJP/RSS vision of India are asked to emigrate to Pakistan by entities ranging from supporters of the saffron brigade to Union ministers. To a country that currently has no scope for freedom of speech, culture and beyond certain limits, even political assertion. [caption id=“attachment_4975111” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Schoolchildren perform during 72nd Independence Day celebrations at Mini Stadium, in Jammu. PTI[/caption] The 15th of August was Independence Day and a day of introspection. Why did someone who did not even want to be interred in the Deccan ultimately choose to live out the last parts of his life in a country he professedly, did not even like? Perhaps it was because he was made to feel like he did not belong here. Perhaps because someone else extended a hand to him when he most needed it — when freedom implied freedom from the British and not much else. In the past few years, we have seen a lot of chest thumping about nationalism. Could there be a better song to express one’s love for the nation than this (in reference to the nazm below)?

“Bazm e agyaar mein aaraam ye paayenge kahaan, Ghar jo chhodenge to chhaavni chhaayenge kahaan”. (In a gathering of strangers/ in a strange land, where shall I find this peace? Leaving this home, where shall I find shelter?)

Where indeed will all those people go, whom the State is slowly delegitimising as Indians? Everyone affected by the National Register for Citizens (NRC), everyone lynched, everyone whose love for the nation is being suspected. Where do all of these people go? Patriotism is not just of the chest-thumping variety. It is also the quieter, softer variation of helping the nation grow, through teaching its citizens to question. It’s every doctor who has gone above and beyond the call of duty. It is every person who votes intelligently, and every person who uses the arts to bring colour to life. It’s every person fighting to combat climate change and pollution. Love for the nation goes above and beyond just borders and flags and the military. It’s love as subtle and sublime as Malihabadi proves. Let’s not lose a potential national treasure again because the State was too busy alienating it, in creating its own vision of India. The only acceptable form of nationalism incorporates a concern for the standard of living of the masses, recognises cultural diversity and also imbibes a sense of internationalism. Shorn of these values, nationalism is at its best an acknowledgement of contemporary geopolitical realities, and at its worst, often reduced to chauvinism, bigotry, and imperialism.

“Haddiyaan apne buzurgon ki tere khaak mein hain” (The bones of my ancestors/elders are in this soil ) — Josh Malihabadi

Rahat Indori once wrote:

“Sabka khoon shaamil hai yahaan ki mitti mein, kisi ke baap ka hindostaan thode hai” (Everyone’s blood is a part of this soil/India is no one’s property)

Independence is tied to the idea of absolute freedom in this country. The shortcomings today, under BJP rule, cannot be more apparent: Are you a newspaper editor planning to carry a critical headline about the prime minister? Think twice. Are you a college student on your way to a public protest? Think twice. Are you a cartoonist yanking your felt tip pen out to doodle the truth? Think twice. Are you a Muslim doctor out to save dying kids in a failing government hospital? Think twice. Are you a comic who wants to talk about the men in power to make people laugh? Think twice. Are you a student who wants to organise a college seminar on Indian history? Think twice. Are you a woman planning to return home later at night? Think twice. Are you a director who wants to make a period drama? Think twice. Are you a news anchor slated to deliver a fact-check primetime slot about a government policy? Think twice. Are you a dairy farmer on your way to the daily market with your cattle? Think twice. Are you a foreigner who wants to take shelter in India till your rogue army stops chasing your ilk? Think twice. Are you a pacifist who doesn’t seem to be hating on Pakistan enough? Think twice. Are you an Indian doubly sure of your nationality? Think twice. Do you want to live in this country like who you are? Think twice. Think twice. Thrice. A hundred times. Think before you have to stop doing even that. The need of the hour is to make an India we love, where the head is held high and the mind is without fear — for everyone. Happy Independence Day! The author is a PhD research scholar in Modern and Contemporary History at Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Angshuman Choudhury is a researcher at Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS)