Chapter 7 — Nationalism

The chapter describes a nation as an 'imagined community' held together by the collective beliefs, aspirations, and imaginations of its members. Unlike a family or tribe, members of a nation may never meet most fellow nationals nor share ties of descent. A nation exists when its members believe they belong together, share a sense of common historical identity, identify with a particular territory, and hold shared political ideals.

The chapter identifies four key elements. First, shared belief — a nation exists when its members believe they belong together, not because of physical characteristics but because of a collective identity. Second, a continuing historical identity — nations draw on collective memories, legends, and historical records to articulate their past. Third, identification with a particular territory or homeland. Fourth, shared political ideals such as democracy, secularism, and liberalism that represent the terms under which members are willing to live together.

National self-determination is the right of nations to govern themselves and determine their own future development. The chapter explains that such claims seek recognition by the international community of a group's status as a distinct political entity. Most often these claims come from people who have lived together on a given land for a long time and share a sense of common identity. The chapter also notes that this right has been reinterpreted over time to mean granting democratic rights to a nationality within a state, rather than necessarily granting separate statehood.

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles established a number of small, newly independent states based on the idea of 'one culture — one state.' However, the chapter explains it proved virtually impossible to satisfy all demands for self-determination made at the time. The reorganisation of state boundaries led to mass migration across borders — millions were displaced from their homes — and many others became victims of communal violence. Even after this effort, most newly created states still contained more than one ethnic and cultural community within their boundaries.

The Basque is a hilly, prosperous region in northern Spain recognised by the Spanish government as an autonomous region within the Spanish federation. The Basque Nationalist Movement demands that Basque become a separate independent country, arguing its culture and language are very different from Spanish culture. The modern movement began around the end of the nineteenth century when Spanish rulers tried to abolish the region's unique political-administrative arrangements, and the dictator Franco later banned the use of Basque language even in homes. The chapter uses this case to illustrate how demands for self-determination continue globally.

Tagore stated: 'Patriotism cannot be our final spiritual shelter; my refuge is humanity. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds, and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live.' He was critical of narrow expressions of nationalism he found in parts of India's independence movement. While he opposed colonial rule and asserted India's right to independence, he made a distinction between opposing western imperialism and rejecting western civilisation. He was concerned that a rejection of the West could turn into hostility toward other influences such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam that have long been present in India.

The chapter gives two main reasons. First, all major religions are internally diverse, containing many sects that differ significantly in their interpretation of religious texts; imposing a common religion as national identity would likely create a highly authoritarian and oppressive society. Second, most societies are culturally diverse, with people of different religions and languages living together; imposing a single religious or linguistic identity would necessarily exclude some groups and restrict their liberty. Therefore, democracies need to emphasise loyalty to a set of values enshrined in the Constitution rather than adherence to a particular religion, race, or language.

The chapter explains that in nineteenth-century Europe, nationalism led to the unification of small kingdoms into larger nation-states — the present-day German and Italian states were formed this way. It also inspired struggles for freedom from colonial rule in Asia and Africa. At the same time, nationalism contributed to the break-up of large empires such as the Austro-Hungarian, Russian, British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese empires. Today, separatist nationalist movements among the Quebecois in Canada, Basques in Spain, Kurds in Turkey and Iraq, and Tamils in Sri Lanka threaten to divide existing states.

The chapter uses Canada as an example of a nation that does not have a common language, since it includes both English-speaking and French-speaking peoples. India is also cited as having a large number of languages spoken in different regions and by different communities. These examples support the chapter's argument that there is no single common set of characteristics — such as language, religion, or descent — present in all nations, which is why the 'imagined community' concept held together by shared beliefs and political ideals is a more accurate way to understand nationhood.

The chapter quotes Nehru from his book The Discovery of India: 'Though outwardly there was diversity and infinite variety among the people, everywhere there was that tremendous impress of oneness, which held all of us together in ages past, whatever political fate or misfortune had befallen us.' This is cited to illustrate how Indian nationalists invoked the country's ancient civilisation, cultural heritage, and historical achievements to claim a long and continuing civilisational unity as the basis of the Indian nation.

Section 7.4 argues that once the idea of 'one culture — one state' is abandoned, democratic societies must find ways for different cultures and communities to survive and flourish within a country. Group rights in democratic countries include constitutional protection for the language, cultures, and religion of minority communities, and in some cases the right to representation in legislative bodies. The chapter notes that the Indian Constitution has an elaborate set of provisions for the protection of religious, linguistic, and cultural minorities, and that national identity should be defined in an inclusive manner recognising the contribution of all cultural communities.

Yes, the NCERT PDF for Class 11 Political Theory Chapter 7 (Nationalism) is available free on cbseprepmaster.com. No sign-up or account is required to read or download it.