What does it mean to be a nationalist?:
[Reflections from India]
by Dr.Sandeep Pandey *
A serious charge that is being levelled against the Global Peace March, presently being taken out through North India as a campaign against Nuclear Weapons world over, is that it is anti-national. During the early phase of the march, after in began from Khetolai in Jaiselmer District on May 11, 1999, the Sangh parivar perceived it as a pre-election stunt directed against the BJP and was alarmed. As a result the march faced hostile resistance in Pokran, Ram Deora, and Phaloudi, during itÇs very first week from BJP-RSS-Shiv Sena cadre and local leadership. Since the Sangh Parivar considers itself as the sole torch bearer of nationalism and the Global Peace March was opposing something which was done by the BJP Government, by default and expectedly it was labelled as anti-national and being supported by foreign funds. However as it became clear to the Sangha Parivar that the march was not deliberately planned against the BJP and also that it was not merely directed against the Indian Nuclear Test and weapons but it was a global campaign against nuclear weapons and energy and for world peace, the opposition subsided.
Although the kind of stiff opposition which the Global Peace March faced in the first week where it was not even allowed to present itÇs viewpoint, is no longer there, doubts kept arising about itÇs intention when people misinterpret this campaign as opposing only the nuclear tests carried out by the Government of India last year. The label anti-national was immediately stuck. At Chadi during a meeting, a person from the audience had merely come to find out whether the Global Peace March opposed or supported the Pokaran tests. He was not interested in listening to anything else. A group of teachers who had assembled there for a Lok Jumbish meeting were also participating in the discussion, were vehemently opposing any argument put forth by the peace marchers. They were not willing to relent from their position that weapons were necessary for security. For them protecting the honour of their country was like protecting the honour of their mother or sister. And to them it was clear by traditional wisdom that only a powerful could do this. Not possessing weapons powerful enough to deter the enemy was keeping oneself vulnerable, something which could not be risked.
The concept of nationalism of bomb-supporters is limited to protecting the physical boundaries of their nation. They are not concerned about what happens to the people living within those boundaries or their sentiments. Their notion of nationalism stems from a traditional feudal mindset. It is linked to the idea of possession of material property. In Phaloudi while the peace march rally through the town was blocked by the bomb supporters, they were advising the peace marchers to go back from Phaloudi and instead goto Kashmir to work for peace. However the peace marchers do not share a common vision of peace in Kashmir with the bomb supporters. What the bomb supporters would like to see in the name of peace in Kashmir is complete surrender of people of Kashmir, especially those belonging to a particular community, to the hegemony of Indian State, even if it may have to take place against the will of people, and more importantly the land of Kashmir should be in the possession of Indian State. They would not mind use of force to maintain this state of åpeaceÇ. For the peace marchers however, what is most important is the sentiments of the people of Kashmir. If Kashmir has to remain with India, they would like to ensure that the hearts of the people of Kashmir are with India rather than merely the piece of land on which they live. A small political party called the Internationalist Democratic Party which is part of the Global Peace March, has made attempts of dialogue with extremist outfits of Kashmir in the past. It contributed itÇs bit in convincing Hurriyat Conference to join the electoral process in J & K. Another organization which extended itÇs fullest co-operation to the Global Peace March in the Pokaran-Phaloudi area, the Urmul Murusthali Bunkar Vikas Samiti was set up with inspiration from Sanjay Ghosh. Sanjay Ghosh, the architect of Urmul Trust, left behind his work in Rajasthan and went to the North-East to work among a population which was under sway of separatist militant organizations. He wanted to convince the mis-directed youth of the North-East about the futility of violence and wanted to initiate development activities for the region with the involvement of local people. Everybody knows how Sanjay was kidnapped and murdered by the militant organization ULFA two years back near Majuli island in Assam. Sanjay was making a genuine effort to integrate the people of North-East with the mainstream national fabric. His commitment and honesty were greater than any of the political parties in this regard.
Sanjay Ghosh was brave and he sacrificed his life for the nation. He was a true patriot. The bomb supporters are coward. They use jingoistic language for provocation but are not ready to face a discussion on the issue. They fear that their arguments may not stand against reason. They lack the courage to take on things in a straight forward manner and resort to treachery to score a point over their rival. At Phaloudi during the blockade when the peace marchers volunteered to respond to the speeches made by the bomb-supporters they were denied the oppurtunity. A bomb supporter told the peace marchers that they could not risk letting the peace marchers use the microphone because Indians being the clever orators, will pose a risk to them. They also acknowledged that there were quite intelligent people on the side of the Global Peace March. But to discredit them the bomb-supporters kept accusing them of being foreign agents instigated by foreign support.
In the end at Phaloudi when the bomb supporters were forced to make way for the Global Peace March, their patriotism proved to be only skindeep as it was outweighed by their love for åbhangÇ cricket and gambling. Phaloudi has traditionally been a big gambling centre and during the course of negotiations with both the bomb-supporters as well as peace marchers as the administration was trying to find a solution to the road blockade, it was when the administration threatened the bomb-supporters with a possible crack-down on the Phaloudi Gambling market, that they made a retreat. The strong will of the peace marchers proved stronger than the facade of the so-called nationalist forces.
The concept of nation is like the concepts of religion and caste which are artificial manmade ones. They are not natural. These concepts have played more divisive role than that of uniting human beings. They have been cause of strife and tension. A person believing in global peace would reject these concepts.
The idea of nationalism can create illusions and misguide people. A person who may feel insecurity in his/her immediate environment is made to believe that he/she can be secure because of some bomb made for a far away enemy whom he/she does not even know. We are not ready to trust our family members or neighbours or colleagues, lot of our countrymen lead life of poverty, we dwell in inhuman situations, farmers commit suicide because of inability to pay debts, we are ready to cheat the Government of our country whenever we get a chance, and still we can feel national pride over a weapon of mass destruction. The concept of nationalism is used by the rulers to evoke sentiments so that we may forget about our real life worries. Afterall it is the leaders, irrespective of whichever party they belong to, who need to harp on this concept. Because if people stop accepting the concept of nation what will the rulers rule on? Hence it was seen after Pokaran test that all political parties accepted the decision sooner or later, easily or with some difficulty. And now all political parties are pushing the country into a war with Pakistan. None of the parties want to remain behind in demonstrating their patriotic zeal. Newspapers are full of stories of war heroes. Lives have been sacrificed on either side of the border, because they serve the political interests of parties. The country was divided fifty years ago, because of vested interest of few politicians and now the two countries have entered into a dangerous arms race for the same reason. Then the cost was paid by bloodbath of common people, today it is with lives of soldiers.
The concept of nation and nationalism should be buried in the interest of peace for greater humanity. Human relationships based on trust and love can open up the path of global peace and human prosperity. Sectarian concepts which divide human beings in any name are an obstacle towards this end.
It is heartening to note that Global Peace March has already started receiving spontaneous support from throughout the World. 600 Pakistani citizens have signed up a statement for disarmament and global peace. Several Indians and Pakistani origin people took out a rally in Washington D.C. on May 26, 1999 in support of Global Peace March and handed over memorandum to Indian and Pakistani embassies making an appeal to the two countries to halt the arms race and the on-going war. On June 5, 1999 when the March was in Jaipur District, several hundreds of vegans associated with a peace group meditated for an hour starting 5 p.m.(IST), praying for the success of the Global Peace March, in Australia, Egypt, and several South American countries. The cause of global peace has emerged stronger.
(* Author is the key-organizer of ongoing GLOBAL PEACE MARCH from POKARAN to SARNATH (May 11, 1999 to August 6, 1999, and did his Ph.D in Control Theory from University of California Berkeley USA. He has also taught in Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India)
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