Sub-nationalism: Meaning and Issues in India

The demand of a separate state flag purported by the state of Karnataka has raised the issue of
subnationalism in the country. As the rhetoric of nationalism engulfs the nation, the demand of a state
neither ruled by a regional party nor having a past of separatist tendencies of a separate flag raises
important questions regarding regionalism, its meaning and threats if any.

Meaning
Sub nationalism in the context of India as seen in Karnataka can be defined as the aspirations of a
particular community within a nation to express their identity in different forms rather than only being
Indian. As the demand of a state flag is raised apart from having a national flag represents that the people
also identify themselves as exclusively the people of Karnataka too rather than only being identified as
Indian. How much it distances itself from the identity of an Indian cannot yet be evaluated. It allows
them to represent the interests of their state or province as separate from the nation’s collective interests.
How did it arise?
It started to come into picture when there was seen great opposition from the people of Karnataka upon
the usage of Hindi on the boards of Namma metro station. They took it as forceful imposition of Hindi
on the majorly Kannada speaking population and demanded it to be removed. It was furthered by a
demand of red and yellow flag to be the state’s official flag being the first of its kind.
A pluralist society
India from the time of its freedom struggle has been a pluralist society. It has given the freedom to all its
different ethnic, religious or linguistic group to express their aspirations in whichever way possible. The
partition on the basis of religion, the reorganization of states on the basis of language (State
Reorganization Act, 1956) from the very start of nation making reflects its accommodative nature. The
special rights provided to tribal people to preserve their own culture and traditions in the fifth and sixth
schedules, the prevention of Hindi becoming the national language by the Official Language act of 1963
all signify the spirit India carries. The less arduous nature of carving out new states displays the
heterogeneous character of the Indian society. Therefore, it is rightly argued that India is maybe classified
as a ‘state nation’ which respects ‘multiple but complementary’ sociocultural identities and provide
constitutional mechanisms to protect and express their identity aspirations.
Issues surrounding sub nationalism
Firstly, it can be argued that sub nationalism if emphasizes aggressively on its regional identities then it
can break the sensitive thread through which India remains a nation. As much as it is a matter of pride it
also remains a matter of concern when regional aspirations become too strong. As a country who has
faced partition due to rising religious motives and who has been plagued by secessionist movements in
Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland based on regional identities, great efforts and sacrifices have been
made on both sides to keep the nation intact. Therefore, the fears of political leaders in granting a state
flag to a particular state are not completely unfounded.
Secondly, it is also to see if the expression of one community or region is at the cost of the other
community. It should be critically studied that whether the state’s assertions are to freely exercise their
own culture and language or to belittle and suppress others.
However, a third and a rather optimistic view emerges which characterizes sub nationalism as the
strength of a multi-cultural nation such as India. Prerna Singh in her work, ‘How Solidarity Works?’ has
mentioned that sub nationalism encourages social development. She demonstrates through her multiple
research works that if the level of solidarity is high in a state, so is the state’s commitment towards its
social welfare. It means that a region becomes more and more dedicated to its work in the state if it is
able to freely express, profess and promote its cultural and linguistic identity within its country. She uses
the case studies of Kerala and Tamil Nadu against that of Uttar Pradesh to prove her point.
Comment
As long as sub nationalism is not secessionist in nature or is aimed towards othering of any community,
it might become a positive force in India. It will help in re-establishing the nature of pluralistic society
of India amidst the growing manufactured rhetoric of nationalism being falsely related exclusively with
Hindu nationality. The conventional nationalism may place a singular identity over the others but the
pluralist nationalism followed by India celebrates its sociocultural diversity.