What Defines India’s National Identity

chillibreeze writer — Fatema Kagalwala

India, with its multitudinous cultures, a mini-world in itself, is fast shedding the mantle of its old identities and poised to wear new ones. At this junction it would be interesting to examine the soul within and from whence it springs.

For a moment let us look at the sharp geo-political divide of rural-urban India for our answers. When Mahatma Gandhi said, “India lives in its villages”, he meant national identity. Going by statistics today India comprises of more than 550,000 villages and 200 towns and cities whereby more than 70% of India lives in its villages. Not much has changed since Gandhi’s time. This throws the examination completely out of focus given that India is still dominated by villages and agriculture contributes 23% to its annual GDP. Yet it finds no space in the definition of a national identity. In urban India the picture of a village remains either romantic or colonial, both of which are nonexistent. So if percentages do not determine the face of this multi-faceted nation, then what does?

Let’s pause here for a moment and ponder over the fact that for once, a majority does not figure in the making of a sensibility, that is India. It is imminent that we then question what is national identity. Is it what we are, what we accept we are or the face we show the world? For the moment let us consider the utopian “what we are”. What binds us and makes us people of one nation despite myriad similarities and dissimilarities.

If countries can be defined by their socio-cultural make-up alone it would be a difficult task to define India and its subsequent ‘Indianness’. Given its multi-cultural set-ups, where each culture and its sub-culture is a separate world of its own, it is not only presumptuous but narrow-minded to define national identity in such a manner. It cannot be based on class distinctions either. If on one hand we have the destitute scavenging for food in dust-bins, the favorite picture the West has of India, on the other hand we have the nouveau riche upper middle class with higher disposable incomes, whose lifestyles revolve around 12 hour work shifts, loans and malls. Sandwiched in the middle is the great Indian middle class preoccupied with getting their daily bread, keeping up appearances and most importantly; marriage. The upper class is too small a percentage to matter when it comes to national identity.

These are by far the operative classifications that guide the life of an Indian. Within these set-ups every Indian has at its core the attribute that is called Indianness. Looking far, wide and within, one is compelled to turn to the brow-beaten answer of our “rich culture and tradition”. This culture is not about the hegemonic rituals that each aspect of culture gets boiled down to but points to that all-encompassing umbrella of sentiments and value systems. Values concerning families where each member, even in urban nuclear set-ups, is still part of a group rather than a lone individual. Concerning hospitality where a guest, whoever he might be, is still entitled to “athithi-satkar”. Concerning the feeling of neighborliness that every Indian intrinsically has to another human being. Notice the sense of belonging among total strangers with which food, tobacco and advice is shared in trains and other public places where strangers are bound to be together for an extended period of time. Concerning youngsters, who respond to traditional despite their idealism and rebellion. Concerning the idolization of women where, even if fraught with double standards, she is idolized more than objectified and a value called respect for women exists in interaction with her. A myriad values and sentiments like these make up the Indian value system, which has somehow permeated through all cultural, class and geographical boundaries.

A national identity may be a transient thing. But what remains when nothing else will is an Indian sensibility. This is woven in each and every nuance of life that an Indian sees around himself. From sharing the connotations of the color red to the understanding of the mechanics of living within a society, the fact is that this knowledge exists within the framework of Indian values. This understanding that is uniquely called an Indian “sensibility” is what defines India. What Jung might have called the “collective conscious.”

Let’s examine the workings of this so-called sensibility. Why do neighbors extend help and support to each other when they can live peaceful unobtrusive lives? Not because they want favors in times of need, but because they are reared to live within a community in an interactive co-existing manner. Why are tear-jerker movies, soaps and song and dance routines more popular then the most sophisticated foreign film? Not because the Indian audience doesn’t have cultivated international taste, but because the majority prefer cinema that they can relate to. Why is an Indian film in English seldom a good experience? Not because the language is alien to its target audience, but because the meaning that is Indian cannot be captured or expressed in a language that is foreign. Why is no heart left unmoved at the sending away of the bride by the father at the time of marriage? This needs no answering.

For the sake of the discussion we have left aside changes in the fabric of national sentiment that have been wrought by social, political or historical events. That would describe the state of the nation or at the maximum the mindset. The soul doesn’t change with external events. It might evolve and mature but it isn’t altered by a few events.

We stand on the threshold of the next golden chapter of our history where our country promises to lead the world in the next few decades. Globalization and technology has shrunk the world to the size of your chat window. Histories and ages are colliding together, on the verge of an irreversible synthesis. At this juncture it is befitting not only to ponder over the design, make and cut of the cloak that clothes India but examine the soul it hides within, in order to keep in touch with one self and not get lost among the changing landscapes of changing civilizations.

 

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—About our writer: Fatema says, "The medium between people and people is the pen."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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