This ostrich act is misconceived

The so-called debate on the issue has so far been confined to reactions from two predictable quarters: the military and the Bhartiya Janata Party. The crux of their objections is not a concern about the possible abuse of such information. It arises from a narrow and exclusivist sense of nationalism.

Army men seem to fear that their sense of nationalism will be threatened by the government’s Muslim specific census. One would like to remind them that in India we do not maintain hierarchies of nationalists. Each one of us serves the country and is as much of a nationalist as the soldier. Making the military your career is an individual choice. Risking your life is part of the package. But it definitely does not make the soldier more of a nationalist than an engineer who builds our roads and bridges, or a teacher, a business executive, or any other citizen of this country engaged in activity within the rule of law. If a civilian’s nationalism is not threatened by knowing who his colleagues are, why should that of a soldier be any different?

All over the world armies maintain the ethnic profile of their recruits. This is particularly true of multi-ethnic countries. Don’t we know how many African Americans are in command positions in the US army? In fact we also now know the Muslim percentages in the US army. Are we living in a military dictatorship where the army is beyond the pale of any scrutiny? Or where the army, under a holier-than-thou blanket, will answer no questions on this issue? Thankfully India is a thriving democracy where defending our borders is as important an aspect of national security as accountability to the people of this country. A country where national security and social justice are inter-twined and not disaggregated issues.

The writer is a historian, and the author of the book, ‘The Sepoys and the Company’ (OUP)