Borders and the idea of national identity

Hence, noted academics and literary figures, including Ernest Gellner, Eric Hobsbawm, Partha Chatterjee, Rabindranath Tagore, and Qurratulain Hyder, have engaged with the idea extensively. 

Nationalism as ‘invented tradition’

Nationalism, derived from the Latin word natio (meaning ‘by birth’), is the most potent ideological force in the contemporary world. Cambridge English dictionary defines nation as “a country, especially when thought of as the people who live there, often with its own culture, language, and customs”. 

As can be observed at many national festivals and events of national importance in different countries, the idea of the nation is reinforced through the use of some sacred symbols, motifs, anthems, and songs, and traditions. 

In his Introduction to The Invention of Tradition (1983), British historian Eric Hobsbawm used the term ‘invented tradition’ to “mean a set of practices…which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past”. 

Many symbols and traditions considered old have been invented only in the recent past. Hobsbawm mentions national anthem, national flag, personification of ‘the nation’ in symbol or image like Marianne and Germania, or even comic personification like John Bull or Uncle Sam, as examples of invented traditions. 

The invention of traditions, their constant repetition, and an emphasis on their relationship with the past are “essentially a process of formalisation and ritualisation”. He averred that ancient materials are used to construct novel invented traditions.

Eurocentric views 

In her famous book, Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity (1992), Liah Greenfeld traced the birth of nationalism to the Wars of the Roses in 16th century in England in the 15th century. She further discussed the history and development of nationalism in four other countries: France, Russia, Germany and the United States.

For Greenfeld, nationalism is an umbrella term that “subsumed the related phenomena of national identity (or nationality) and consciousness, and collectivities based on them-nations”. 

She considered nationalism as the cultural framework of the modern world and saw democracy implicit in the concept. Her view of nationalism also included “ideology on which national identity and consciousness rest”. 

Much like Greenfeld, Ernest Gellner in his book Nations and Nationalism (1983) considered nationalism a necessity of modern industrial society, which needs a state-controlled education system to produce cultural homogeneity. In Gellner’s functionalist view of nationalism, “it is nationalism which engenders nation, and not the other way round”. 

The studies of nationalism by Greenfeld and Gellner have been considered Eurocentric, much like the work of Benedict Anderson, who defined it as an “imagined community” in his book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism (1983).

Nationalism as derivative discourse in Partha Chatterjee

Partha Chatterjee took the discussion to the Indian context in his book Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World: A Derivative Discourse (1986). He considered nationalism as a “derivative discourse”, which used many ideas of rationality and modernity to fight colonialism. 

Viewing the nation-state as a relatively new concept, Chatterjee noted Indian nationalists’ division of the world into two domains: material and spiritual. In the material domain, they acknowledged West’s superiority but in the spiritual domain, they projected their cultural independence.

Nationalism in novels 

As a literary form, the novel has a very inclusive character capable of representing diverse points of view. The novel has been used not only to address questions of national identity but also to present views of the nation that often differ from the mainstream views. 

In his literary history titled Nation and Novel: The English Novels from its Origins to the Present Day (2008), Patrick Parrinder shows the relationship between novel and nation. He argues that English novelists, drawing on history and mythology, have both shaped and subverted the officially sanctioned versions of national identity. 

On the other hand, Priyamvada Gopal’s study of Indian English novels titled The Indian English Novel: Nation, History, and Narration (2009) focuses on novels that repeatedly address the idea of India.

The idea is vigorously debated by noted literary figures like Rabindranath Tagore, Mulk Raj Anand, R K Narayan, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, and many others. An important section of Gopal’s book is devoted to the novel of partition, which has emerged as a very important genre of novel in India.

Many famous Indian novels have explored and interrogated the idea of nationalism in its varied forms. In her novel Sunlight on a Broken Column (1961), Attia Hosain shows the growth of nationalist consciousness in her main character Laila, who comes from a talukdar (aristocrat) family, which, true to its class, was loyal to the English rule. Blending history and fiction seamlessly, the novel shows a number of other characters variously affected by the multiple political currents from the 1930s to the decade after partition.

How Rabindranath Tagore engages with it

Tagore, known for his humanism and cosmopolitanism, discussed the idea of nationalism in novels like Gora (1910) and Home and the World (1916), while his book Nationalism and Various Letters offered a critical view of the idea. Tagore saw a link between nationalism, imperialism, and jingoism and toured countries like the United States and Japan, lecturing against the negative effects of nationalism. 

Home and the World, written against the backdrop of the Swadeshi movement, presents two different versions of nationalism. Sandip, a character in the novel, holds a view of nationalism inspired by the West and characterised by provocative rhetoric, oppressive political tactics, and contempt for the masses.

Nikhilesh, another character who is an aristocrat but a Gandhi-like figure, has a more inclusive view of nationalism closer to Tagore’s own. He believes in Swadeshi, but he is also considerate of the ordinary vendors, traders and shopkeepers whose livelihood is affected by the boycott and burning of foreign goods, especially textiles. Devoted to communal harmony, Nikhilesh ultimately becomes a victim of communal violence at the end of the novel. 

Tagore’s most famous novel Gora also espouses an inclusive nationalism. Presenting a protagonist whose view of life is sectarian and exclusionary at the beginning of the novel, Gora’s discovery of his Irish roots and his real identity makes him embrace not only all sections of Indian society but also universal humanity.

Qurratulain Hyder’s inclusive vision of nationalism 

A very important test for nationalism in India was the conflict resulting from the Two-Nation theory, which culminated in the Partition of India. Many writers and poets in different Indian languages have captured the pain caused by the Partition. Many of Qurratulain Hyder’s novels, novelettes, and stories lament the loss of a shared composite culture that the Partition caused.

Presenting an inclusive vision of nationalism, River of Fire (1959/2003), which begins in the Mauryan period and ends after independence, highlights the syncretic spirit of Indian culture throughout its long history. The novel tries to grasp India’s soul through the circularity of situations and some character types – born in different periods with the same traits – and discovers it in the country’s plural traditions and multicultural syncretism. 

The region of Awadh figures prominently in many of her works, including River of Fire and My Temples, Too (1949). These two novels were transliterated from Urdu to English by the author and remind one of Benedict Anderson’s view about nations being imaginative and cultural artifacts.

Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh

Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981), describing events in Indian history from August 1947 to the 1970s, addresses the ‘unity in diversity’ ideal of the post-independence Indian nation. Looking at the world through the perspective of its main character Saleem Sinai, who was born at midnight on August 15, 1947, the novel links Sinai’s life and struggles to the life and struggles of the new nation. 

Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Shadow Lines (1988), set in Calcutta, Dhaka, and London against the backdrop of World War II, Partition, and riots in 1963-64, takes up the issue of the artificiality of geographical borders and blames the idea of nationalism for creating divisions and causing violence. The novel makes the point that the construction of borders, which tries to sustain the idea of national identity, ignores the fact that a common history links people on both sides of the border. 

Post read questions

How do contemporary geopolitical conflicts revive debates around nationalism and identity in international relations?

Explain the distinction between the “material” and “spiritual” domains in Partha Chatterjee’s interpretation of Indian nationalism.

Do political borders adequately represent shared histories and cultural identities? Discuss with suitable examples.

Nationalism is a product of modernity. Discuss this with reference to the arguments of Ernest Gellner and Benedict Anderson.

Discuss how literature has shaped debates around nationalism in India. Illustrate your answer with examples from writers such as Rabindranath Tagore and Qurratulain Hyder.

(Mohammad Asim Siddiqui is a Professor in the Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University.)

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