Do tell me which one of the two is a'dirty' word. Take a minute, or few, and do tell me which one of them is used as a pejorative. However, what do you think the words mean? Nationalism, in Cambridge dictionary in parlance of social studies is defined as: "the feelings of affection and pride that people have for their country." While patriotism is defined as: "the feeling of loving your country more than any others and being proud of it." In the west, the word "nationalist" is mostly used in a pejorative sense. What is surprising is the fact that most people simply don't know, or understand that both words have the same meaning by and large. Yes. I'm learning that being a nationalist can get you the label that you are backward or not a progressive. Still, the reality is that both the words mean almost exactly the same thing, they both represent a sentiment of love, a belonging to one's country. Strange eh, not many people think about it.
I once was an outspoken critic of the government, but then all of a sudden they were passing rudimentary laws restricting criticism of policies etc., before the laws against such sentiments were passed in 2012 by the corrupt Congress led government. What is shocking to me, and this is perhaps the only criticism of the government that I can come to think of, is that the utterly unconstitutional law wasn't repealed by the new government. The longer the lopsided and corruption inducing law is allowed to exist, the doubt against the intention of the current government in place will start to take place. Especially so when one of the main planks that the election was fought by the ruling party, it was to fight corruption. So BJP, as a supporter of your politics, I would like to see the government to possibly repeal the questionable law, which criminalises by and large anyone who criticises the government, or its policies.
Moving on, there is a political definition of nationalism, so let us have a look: "Nationalism is also the desire for political independence in a country that is controlled by or part of another country." I implore you to think and suggest whether nationalism is indeed such a corrupt thought as it is portrayed in media or otherwise by people? What are your opinions, do share in comments section? For me, wanting my county to be free of external influences is very important, and it is to every patriot I hope. So what are the external influences? Ahem, the list is quite long when you start naming names, but i'll try to condense it and put in simple enough a context.
Any and every foreign government which wants to dictate policies. This happens quite a lot, and one of the most shocking incident was the food security bill, which the Indian government, one lead by Modi/ BJP, asked to be revised and reconsidered. India with a population much larger than a lot of western countries, was suggested to subsist on a mere fraction of what was allocated to developed nations. Yes the hypocrisy hasn't exactly found me in good humour. First they complain about how poverty is a killer and then, they want you to have much less to eat, for a considerably larger population. One of the striking examples was USA, which with less than a third of the populations, was allocated more than 10 times the food(in monetary terms). You read that right, there's no mistake, and this was cited as an example by the Modi government as a reason why India can't agree to it.
There are NGO's who ask for various laws to be passed, and to quite an extent, they dictate policies. So what, one may ask has it to do with you and i, and one may even posit that "aren't NGO's good?" The answer to it is something which I didn't quite know myself sometime ago, and it can be unnerving to be honest. Not all NGO's are good and are working for social good, and in national interest importantly. Some of the NGO's have too much power, and in the guise of good, a lot of foreign funded NGO's foment strife. All the naxal movements, and other separatist movements, they're all supported in a lot of ways by various NGO's. They actually lobby for decriminalisation of such actors, laxity in punishments etc., and so on and on. What may you ask it has to do f* all with nationalism and patriotism? Everything is the answer. A lot of not well thought out laws, which were passed by various governments over the years, they wouldn't have had, had their been no pressure on the government which comes from external elements as foreign governments, and internally through NGO's. This is where they come in, and they deserve all the flak they get, as they deserve it. For a long time, they have been pushing for tighter laws on burning wood for fuel. For what it is worth, burning plastic/ rubber etc. in NCR, was already made illegal and it was actually quite a good thing(NGT passed a somewhat redundant law in NCR as far as NCR is concerned). Pollution is a problem, and in a country with such population density as India, it can be a great killer. However, what they are doing is forgetting that a whole 40% odd population lives below poverty line, and no one considers the good part of population before passing such boneheaded laws. As per Tendulkar committee report, if you can spend 15 rupees on food per day in a metro city, you are not considered poor. So what is that lot supposed to do to cook food and so on? However, this is not their gravest crime. One of the gravest crimes(had to emphasise), committed by some of the NGO's who have foreign backing, is attempts to pass various laws, which actually tug at and tear the social fabric. The family life in the country is pretty much coming under attack from all corners, mostly led by various NGO's. What can be their motive? Well, simply put, it is to help erase your identity as a society, your existence as a society which was cohesive and inclusive to more smaller, more fractured units, which then can be reformed. It is what one will call cultural Marxism, where any and every identity is erased, and an individual is a nameless, faceless unit without thoughts, without rights or freedoms of any kind.
What is happening in India is a Marxist revolution of sorts, where they are trying to kill your identity of an Indian, of India itself. They have already done away with most of the history of the nation, which I spoke of in an earlier post where I discussed old civilisations/ cultures of India. We are not taught about the glorious history of our nation, where India was the leading contributor to the world, but only that we were a nation whcih was subjugated by various people. We are already told by proxy that we should be ashamed of our identities as Indians with our past, with respect to how society was segregated and so on. Now we are told to be ashamed how unequal things are socio-economically for most of us Indians, that when the government ruled by one part for a good majority didn't put in place/ enforce correct policies. With the guilt, the shame that they are making you feel, they will come for you, to mold/ shape not just your thoughts, but even your identity. While you you may or may not hold dear your identity, but they want to do away with your national identity, as then you will be easy to deal with. A lot of nations in the west are also facing this problem, but the mass awareness hasn't happened yet, and by the time it will hit them, they will be too far behind the curve. India and Indians have the advantage to learn from the experience of others, than making the same mistake.
What does that mean for you as an individual, as a citizen, a patriot, a nationalist? Well, read up on Bolshevism which started as a movement, an experiment, which thankfully hasn't happened anywhere else but Russia. Some of it, communism, has been replicated elsewhere in the world, and even that partial implementation has brought perennial poverty to the working class, and much worse(1 child per family rule in China. China has a lot of land, which can support such populations). So what did take place in Russia, at the hands of Bolsheviks you ask. The Tsarist structure in Russia was overthrown, Tsar and his family was culled in the most brutal manner, even their relatives. What then followed was plain murderous, to put it simply. According to recent estimates put forth by a Russian author, the toll that Bolshevist movement claimed is closer, if not more, 60 million/ 6 crore dead in the most brutal manner. Most were either starved to death, or just plain shot and buried in mass graves. You became just a number, and just that and had no more identity than just another unit in the cog that fed the war machine. It is important to remember the above two words in that context, and that you need to be brave, and take a stand. The government is helpless unless you as a citizen of the country will not take any ownership. Yes, it is that time. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. You have to own, take responsibility and let the government know, vocally enough about what you, a citizen, a patriot, a nationalist thinks. Without your support, the politicians will waver, and do what their electorate will tell them to. Do not be the guy who thinks, "what's it to me" for it may not be you today, but your turn will come along soon enough. Be proud of you national heritage, your national identity, be a proud patriot and a nationalist. Stake your claim to what is yours, and is yours alone, as they're already there, working like termites, trying to eat the nation inside out, breaking every part of what made the Indian identity. When, and make no mistake about it, when the time comes, we all will have to stand and be counted, or else the nation which we all love, will be no more. Already they talk about breaking the nation, but they cannot do anything without our complicity. They need us to do away with the nation, do away with our identities. All they need from us is for us to vote them into power, and then keep silent. For our silence will embolden the traitors, who have done much harm to interests of India, and not just geo-politically, but even to the rights of our existence. For example, food security for the nation which I brought up earlier.
Jai Hind.
