I read a small piece written by someone which struck a chord in me to write this, because it indeed provoked a deep sense of thought and contemplation. How do we really view or experience nationalism for that matter? How do we characterise someone as a patriot? Where does criticism draw the line between the two?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main theme discussed in that excerpt was simple. Nationalism, as of today, is largely viewed as a pride in the sovereignty of the nation, while patriotism is critical of the factors affecting the sovereignty and prosperity of the nation. Ideally, both should be synonymous, or at least be co-existent; one should not exist without the other. However, in reality, both are disjoint. The pride overwhelms the being because it is governed by emotions, and doesn’t listen to reason. Hence, we see a lot of nationalists, but not a lot of patriots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we formally understand nationalism and patriotism, by definition, they show these very differences as well. Nationalism is a political construct, therefore it will prosper when there is the political will in the state to provide the correct environment for it. Patriotism is a social construct, but it is the personal initiative of the being to be devoted to the cause which is bigger than themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the context of India today, we have the right environment for nationalists, but we still lack the will to keep our patriots together, and it is very important for everyone to reflect on the reasons that affect this paradigm shift. There has been the political will to drive the people through emotions in a singular direction: India first. Whenever we discuss issues, matters relating to our sovereignty will always take a priority. Whether it is the illegally occupied territories, the protests against the central rule to form independent states, differences on language and culture, all of these subjects are closely attached to the emotional constitution of the person and will always overwhelm them, and they rightfully should. Anything that has the potential to break or compromise the constitution of a nation shall be neutralised at the earliest. However, on an inter-personal level, we should reflect whether this is all that makes a great nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every time I talk to someone who aspires to migrate to a foreign country, they cite repetitive reasons for doing so. There are better opportunities, better infrastructure, better conduct among people, so on and so forth. I argue that India has them too, but later I realise how futile those arguments are. Majority of the people who migrate out of India, are the ones who want to see India prosper, because they prospered with it. They want to bring change to India but can’t do it alone. They have made a compromise on their love for the nation with their life and the lives of their future generations. They can’t have both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other kind of people are those who stay back, either by choice or otherwise, and try their best to fix what’s wrong with the nation. They criticise not just the government, but also the people and their actions. They do all they can on their personal level, even if it exhausts them, even if it is futile. They are the ones who believe that every drop counts to fill the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last kind is the one with the dying spirit. They love the country and used to love it with everything at one point. However, they got so broken up after seeing events unfold around them, or by their own situation and will power, they gave up on the dream that the nation will improve. They decided to fade into the background with the noise of the many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The different kinds of people I just described above had different characteristics, but had one thing in common: patriotism. Their love for this country, not just its sovereignty, but for what it truly is. Patriotism is not just driven by pride, but also by reason, courage, and discipline. A patriot is proud of the flag at the mast and is still critical of its subjects, not for his or her personal interests, but the nation’s interests. A patriot is not just extrospective, but also introspective. Someone who doesn’t litter and lectures others who do, who respects every language and culture while expecting others to do the same, who knows that our Constitution is not perfect but will still protest when it is under threat, who knows that our vast history is not perfect but ensures we don’t repeat the same mistakes, someone who loves and professes his or her religion but also befriends someone from another, and above all, forgets everything, race, caste, status, age, gender, religion, when the nation is concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, a true patriot shall never be afraid to raise his or her voice, or even arms, for the nation. It doesn’t mean revolting at every possible opportunity, but to ensure that the integrity, fraternity and sovereignty of the nation stays intact, and the person shall undertake any means necessary to ensure that, EVEN if it means protesting against populism or the government itself. Protect the values, protect the morals, protect the people, protect the flora and fauna, protect the heritage and culture. Sacrifice is not the end, but rather the means to an end, therefore a true patriot shall not just think of sacrificing everything, including their life, at the first instance, because the life of the patriot is as important to the nation as the nation itself. After all, the nation is built by its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A nationalist reading this shall contemplate, because the love for the nation doesn’t just lie in its boundaries, doesn’t just lie in the greatness of their own state or culture, it transcends everything and everyone. Therefore, even if there is even one true patriot in this nation, the nation shall never bow before anyone else. I am glad to see that in this respect, the nation shall not worry because it has given birth to many patriots since time immemorial, and it shall continue to do so till the end of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every Indian should remember that they owe it to their ancestors, themselves and their future generations to preserve this nation and help it prosper through the ages. The day they realise that they will be gone one day, but the nation will go on even after that, is when they shall take their actions seriously and focus on repaying the debt that is owed to the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vande Mataram<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I read a small piece written by someone which struck a chord in me to write this, because it indeed provoked a deep sense of thought and contemplation. How do we really view or experience nationalism for that matter? How do we characterise someone as a patriot? Where does criticism draw the line between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-random"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":476,"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yuvishere.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}