This Nationalism Would Have Imprisoned Tagore
Santanu Dey
Neither Geeta, nor Granth Sahib
He was reading Lenin just before his execution: Reminiscences of Lenin by Clara Zetkin. Was Bhagat Singh, then, deficient in his patriotism? Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta did not only hurl harmless, non-toxic bombs in the Central Assembly or the present day Parliament ‘for the deaf to hear’, but also scattered leaflets at the same time. On those leaflets were written slogans like ‘Inquilab Zindabad!’ and ‘Down with Imperialism!’
From ‘Vande Mataram’ to ‘Inquilab Zindabad!’. Was the “South Asian Che Guevara” not patriotic enough? Otherwise why did he replace the indigenous slogan of ‘Vande Mataram’ with an extraneous ‘Inquilab Zindabad’?
During those times, ‘Vande Mataram’ was the slogan of freedom fighters. All revolutionaries including Khudiram Bose screamed ‘Vande Mataram’ on their gallows. Other revolutionaries like Binay Chowdhury and Saroj Mukherjee were taken to jail as they shouted ‘Vande Mataram’ on the streets of Burdwan. In the Dum Dum jail, the play Anandamath was staged by Bankim Mukherjee and others. Another controversy arose when the Muslims claimed that this slogan promoted the Hindu idea of idol worship. In this situation, Subhash Chandra Bose and the Indian National Congress President Jawaharlal Nehru sought advice from Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindranath stated his opinion in a letter, where he wrote:
“At the core of ‘Vande Mataram’ is a hymn praising ‘Durga’, a Hindu goddess. This idea is so prominent that there is no debate regarding it. Though Bankim, in this song, has stringed together the people of Bengal with goddess Durga, the idol worship of the ten-handed goddess is essentially unacceptable to any Muslim. The novel ‘Anandamath’ is a piece of literature and the song is consistent with the book. But this song cannot be universally accepted in the National Assembly which is a confluence of people from different religions and sects.”
Finally, in 1937, aligning with Tagore’s advice, only the first two stanzas were decided to be sung in the Congress session. Those who wished to sing could stand up and do so while others could choose not to.
‘Nationalism’ and ‘patriotism’ may seem synonymous to each other but they are different
Again, ‘desh prem’ (patriotism) and ‘desh bhakti’ are not the same. In ‘prem’ (love), there is conflict and friction. In ‘bhakti’, there is unconditional obedience and unquestioned loyalty. We are in support of ‘desh prem’ and not ‘desh bhakti’. A patriot loves his country and does not view that love as a means to acquire power.
India-Pakistan cricket matches are not regarded as mere matches these days. It is more of a war as if. If India loses, it seems like the team has lost a war and they are retreating from the battlefield. The simple truth of winning or losing gets obscured due to the naked manifestation of a wounded ‘nationalism’.
However, India-Pakistan matches were different years ago, when the joy of winning and the anguish after losing could be felt. Never before did the failure of the team translate into a matter of national shame for the Indians. Just like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, Imran and Akram too were heroes.
Now, when India loses, Amit Shah tweets: “Another successful ‘strike’, congratulations to team India!” – hinting towards the other “surgical strike”. Social media campaigns are flooded with posts that say, “Kashmir celebrates India’s loss with fireworks and hoists Pakistan’s flag.” After the Pulwama incident, Indian cricketers came to practice wearing army hats. In a World Cup match, the insignia of the Indian Army was seen on Dhoni’s cricket gloves.
Confusing ‘patriotism’ with ‘nationalism’ is not a new affair. This has been happening for a long time now. But today it has boiled down to a sense of military pride. Indeed, it is a strange kind of nationalism. The politics of acquiring power in the name of patriotism seems to be the primary motive. A match against Pakistan means another Kargil or Balakot. Cricket has been bowled by military nationalism.
Patriotism needs neither hatred nor jealousy towards others
Patriotism is a mighty quality for anyone. It is a matter of extreme pride and something to boast of. Patriotism requires dedication.
On the other hand, nationalism gives birth to jealousy and hatred. In order to prove oneself as the ‘greatest’, it makes one contemptuous towards others. It teaches one to find the enemies within their own house. The enemy is inside. The love towards one’s country and its people is patriotism. A patriot’s thoughts and interests are not bound by barriers of narrow, self-interests. She rises above all personal boundaries and her own interests are aligned with the people’s thoughts and for their greater good and well-being. She is no more a unitary entity on this planet. She becomes a member of a larger community. This sense of togetherness, in its own course, takes her to the consciousness of universal humanitarianism and internationalism. Her patriotism is not supposed to be in competition against a different country or its people – rather, it begins to complement each other.
For true patriots, their homeland and race become a part of the greater world citizenship
As the famous Marxist theorist, Liu Shaoqi said, “Genuine patriotism means fervent love for one’ s own fatherland, its people, language, culture, literature and best traditions, behind which lie thousands of years and generations of historical development.” He added, ‘This kind of patriotism has no connection whatsoever with self-centered, selfish, and anti-foreign bourgeois nationalism, nor with such national prejudices as narrow-minded exclusivism, isolationism, sectarianism and provincialism.’
Patriotism and nationalism are contradictory ideas. This is further elucidated by British writer and humanist George Orwell in his 1945 article, Notes on Nationalism:
“Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.”
This patriotism is not opposed to proletarian internationalism
Liu Shaoqi has explained, “It is clear that the genuine patriotism of the masses of the people in all countries is not in contradiction to proletarian internationalism, but is, rather, intimately connected with it.”
“Can a communist, who is an internationalist, at the same time, be a patriot?”, asked Mao once and said, “He not only can be but also must be.” During the war against Japan, Mao wrote, “We are at once internationalists and patriots, and our slogan is, ‘Fight to defend the motherland against the aggressors’”.
Who are anti-nationals? And who are patriots?
Someone like Savarkar or Vajpayee who signed mercy petitions with the British and handed over revolutionaries to them, are they the true patriots? Or, are people like Bhagat Singh and Laxmi Sehgal patriots? Those who do not have the minimum contribution to the freedom struggle and instead helped the British Raj – are they the patriots? Or, are people like Khudiram Bose, Surya Sen and Kalpana Dutta patriots? Those who were agents of the British in India – are they the patriots? Or, are those Muslims, who fought against the British, suffered a lot of bloodshed, the true patriots? Those who are selling government factories to foreign buyers at a dirt cheap price, those who are providing unrestricted opportunities to loot the natural resources like water, forests and mines – if they aren’t anti-nationals, then who is? Those who are misusing huge amounts of taxpayer’s money, those who are embezzling all the black money, aren’t they the true anti-nationals?
As per Hindutva nationalism, Tagore or Gandhi can surely be regarded as ‘anti-nationals’. Indeed, they could have easily been sent behind bars.
In a country where the Where the Mind is Without Fear was written, people have to obey government fatwas and bow their heads these days.
Nikhilesh in Tagore’s The Home and the World says that those who are not enthusiastic enough to love their country as it is must shout and deify their country in order to keep up their excitement -– it is not love they feel for their country, it is merely intoxication. Even in Bimala’s story where Rabindranath articulates her husband’s sentiments, Nikhilesh says, “I am willing to serve my country, but my worship is reserved for someone who is far greater and above it. It would be a curse to worship my country as a god.”
For Tagore, patriotism was humanitarianism – to rise above all the discrimination and love his countrymen unconditionally. In other words, a manifestation of universal love and international harmony.
So, we are patriots. At the same time, we are internationalists.
Stand apart from yourself
In your heart, you will hear the resonance of the world and its people.
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