Defining Nationalism from a
Humanist Perspective in Manipur
BY KAPIL ARAMBAM
Nationalism is a set of beliefs taught to each generation in which the Motherland
or the Fatherland is an object of veneration and becomes a burning cause for
which one becomes willing to kill the children of other Motherlands or Fatherlands.
Howard Zinn
A
ccording to Stanford Encyclopaedia
of Philosophy, the term ‘nationalism’
is generally used to describe two
phenomena: (1) the attitude that the
members of a nation have when they care
about their national identity and (2) the
actions that the members of a nation take
when seeking to achieve (or sustain) self-
determination. How we define such a term
in a conflict zone, like Manipur, would
be hard as nails. This feature is a frank
attempt to rebut the question of identity
crisis that plagues us. The endeavour
could be demanding, but perhaps it could
somehow soothe my deep resentment
towards our society.
There is a problem area – a slight
disruption in realising the term itself.
Nationalism, for the Manipuris, should
be defined in the context of the Indian
nation in its essence but there is a
serious disagreement, as we have seen
in the several decades that we have been
proclaimed politically independent. It is
one thing the discrepancies in interpreting
the term in its philosophical substance,
and quite another for a situation, where
there is an abiding contention between
the legally-formed government and the
insurgents. Ironically, in our state, one of
them is elected by the people whilst the
other claims to exist for the people. Of the
people, nobody knows. Their tussle has
long been tearing us apart in this hopeless
society, in which we don’t know where we
belong to.
Nationalism, said Albert Einstein, is
an infantile sickness. He added it is the
measles of the human race. But, in a
pragmatic sense, there should be a notion
of belonging somewhere. We only have
sky above us, yet we still cannot imagine a
world without countries or religions. Where
do we belong to? Precisely, we don’t want
anarchy in as much as we don’t want the
government and insurgent organisations
to cash in on the deplorable situation. We
don’t want to get into the monkey business
that the power-players have been dealing
in. We want to excel in life and follow the
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progress of human society.
It is comprehensible, in this states of
affair, that nationalism is a pariah lingo.
Some people love India, while some
others not. And there is Nagalim. And
Kukiland. Is there any process in the
government system that provides for
checks and balances in the state? Why is
the government so gutless? But again,
the insurgents who lay claim to be our
Saviour, don’t understand people from
the neighbouring hills will still call the
Valley-inhabitants as Meiteis. Manipur is
heading towards doomsday, and it is high
time we put up our guard. Nationalism is
a commodity, which we find abundant in
successful political people, and which they
use to trade with our life. In his ‘Notes on
Nationalism’, George Orwell wrote: “The
nationalist not only does not disapprove of
atrocities committed by his own side, but
he has a remarkable capacity for not even
hearing about them.”
But it could also mean a different thing
to others. Others, in the sense the people
of the world and it does not necessarily
indicate the Northeast jungles only.
Nationalism is a system of consciousness
that inspire man to strive for autonomy
or self-rule. It is also a belief that makes
man to wait for central funds and rake
in the moola. But it has no scope for the
tradesmen – legal or illegal – who bet on
the land for personal interests. There is
no such thing as business revolution in
political theory.
We can decide where we can be best
together. The care for national identity
is explicitly divided over mainstream
affiliation and recapturing the lost powers
of a former sovereignty. We have a
language. We have a history. We have a
philosophy. Then, we are human beings
just like others. It is miserable to observe
people through the narrow prism of
ethnicity and race. We are responsible
for ourselves. Just like other societies.
We belong to humanity. We can keep
nationalism back for the sake of posterity,
at least.
1/29/10 1:40:18 PM