Nationalism in Indian Politics

Nationalism organises politics around the nation: its sovereignty, unity, security, and identity. The crucial Indian distinction is between civic nationalism, which defines the nation by shared citizenship and constitutional values, and cultural nationalism, which defines it by a shared civilisational or religious heritage.

• Primacy of national sovereignty and unity.
• A strong stance on security and territorial integrity.
• An account of national identity: civic and inclusive, or cultural and rooted in heritage.

Nationalism has no fixed economics. It can be protectionist and self-reliant (the swadeshi tradition) or market-friendly; the economy is treated as a means to national strength rather than an end in itself.

Civic nationalism emphasises a shared political community open to all citizens; cultural nationalism emphasises the protection and primacy of the majority's traditions and identity. The contest between these visions runs through modern Indian politics.

The freedom struggle produced both strands: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave nationalism cultural and devotional force, while V. D. Savarkar articulated Hindutva. Subhas Chandra Bose and Nehru represented a more secular, civic nationalism centred on the state and constitution.

Scholars everywhere distinguish civic nationalism (France's republican model) from ethnic or cultural nationalism (common in nineteenth-century Europe). India's debate mirrors this global divide, and the recent worldwide resurgence of identity-based nationalism has sharpened it.

The Congress tradition framed India as a secular, civic nation; the RSS-BJP tradition advances cultural nationalism rooted in Hindutva. Most concrete fights, over Article 370, citizenship, and national symbols, are really arguments about which definition of the nation should prevail.