Crisis of Secular Nationalism in India

THE INSURRECTION OF LITTLE SELVES — The Crisis of Secular Nationalism in India: Aditya Nigam; Oxford University Press, YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 650.

The focus of this book is the `ideological configuration called secular nationalism', which constituted the dominant discourse of Indian politics and nationhood during the post-Independence period. The trials and tribulations that secular nationalism faced during the formative phase of the Indian nation have had several commentators; some sceptical, others optimistic about its future. All of them, however, recognise that secular nationalism has been facing a crisis, particularly because of the threat posed by the communal forces represented by the Hindu right.

The concern of the work of Aditya Nigam is not limited to the unravelling of the crisis, but takes into account the overall context of the moment that constituted the crisis. This is achieved by invoking what the author calls, borrowing from Michael Foucault, the insurrection of little selves, which the Indian polity experienced since 1980 and its consequences for secular nationalism. In other words, the study covers a broad canvas, comprehending several strands of contemporary politics, as unfolded during the last few decades, impinging upon the state of secular nationalism.

Rise of `infra-nationalism'

What makes this study attractive is its conceptual and theoretical sensitivity, even if one does not agree with some of its formulations. To the structure of nationhood inherited from the nationalist struggle and consolidated over the early decades of independent India a major challenge was posed by the political discourse emerging during the 1980s and 1990s. New forces appeared on the political horizon, leading to a redrawing of the cultural boundaries of the nation.

These forces, in the words of the author, are represented by the emergence of the "return of the repressed discourses of caste and community, the eruption of `subnational' assertions, and the emergence of the women's movement as a major political force and finally, the challenge to the ideology of developmentalism posed by ecological movements." The author calls this process, for want of a better term, the rise of infra-nationalisms, distinct from `subnationalism' in that they did not ever express in themselves the desire for another nation.

Simultaneously occurred a political churning leading to the `unravelling' of the Congress and the growth of the Hindu right. As a consequence the terms of public discourse were refashioned, even turned upside down. Secular nationalism hence came under severe strain and the Hindu communal (nationalist, in the author's vocabulary) discourse gained ground in the void created by the retreat of secular nationalism.

The author holds that the emergence of the Hindu right was "the response of the hitherto privileged upper-caste Hindu elite to the challenge posed by the nation's repressed selves. To that extent, these developments point to a certain kinship between the hegemonic secular nationalist discourse and the resurgence of the right, at least in terms of maintaining the privileges cornered by this elite."

Debate on secularism

The argument is indeed attractive and logical, but perhaps too schematic, of a political transformation rooted in changing social and cultural consciousness. Whether the impact of these movements was disruptive of secular nationalism, even if they undermined its overarching character, itself is a debatable point, if they were to be reckoned as part of the process of democratisation.

It is, however, true that whenever under strain nationalism in India revealed Hindu colours. In fact, Indian nationalism always betrayed an undercurrent of Hindu religious sensibility, which has adversely affected its secular character.

It points more to the weaknesses of secular practice, rather than the concept of secularism. The social and political space that the Hindu right seized was created partly by the retreat of secularism due to the weaknesses of its practice.

An analysis of secular practice rather than the Indian debate about secularism, for which the author has devoted considerable space, could have been more rewarding for an understanding of the crisis of secular nationalism. The place of minorities and Dalits in the nation is an important factor in the fortunes of secular nationalism. The author argues, "The very project of Indian nationalism was an impossible one, precisely because it was impossible to have one common history."

"The different histories of communities and intercommunity relations that provided the ingredients for different imaginations of selfhood led to different articulations of nationalism in Hindus and Muslims." The author's point is not that there was no shared cultural ground between Hindus and Muslims but that it did not comprise the entire arena of inter community relations. That it was so is in the least surprising, as it would never be the case in any intercommunity relations.

Need for dialogue

What is pertinent in this context is that despite the long historical tradition of commonly shared social and cultural life why social relations built over a long period are shattered even by insignificant incidents. In recent times the strongest defenders of secular nationalism have been the Marxists. From interviews of the activists of the Marxist Party of India in Bengal the author has highlighted their uncertainty in dealing with religious beliefs and practices.

Drawing upon this experience the question the author raises is extremely important: how to conduct the dialogue with the masses who had already been constituted as Hindus, Muslims and, Christians.

The success of secular nationalism would partly depend upon the answer to this question, which as one of the leaders of the party in Bengal has said the Marxists have not yet found or alternatively, have not even been seeking.

As Jyoti Basu has rightly said what is important is not what Marx or Lenin has said about religion or what we personally believe, but bring out the fact that from within our soil itself we can find the resources of `dharma nirapekshata'.

It is not a question limited to the Marxists alone, but to the liberal secular forces as a whole. Aditya Nigam's work both informs and provokes. It deserves close reading and serious discussion.

By K.N. Panikkar
(www.thehindu.com)