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Nation building refers to the process of constructing a cohesive national identity among citizens of a state, ensuring a sense of belonging, unity, and loyalty to the nation. It involves efforts to integrate diverse ethnic, linguistic, regional, and religious groups into a shared political and cultural framework.
- According to Karl Deutsch (1961), nation-building is a process of social communication through which individuals become aware of their shared identity.
- Benedict Anderson (1983) calls nations “imagined communities”—where members imagine themselves as part of a larger, shared community despite never meeting most of its members.
- Ernest Gellner emphasized that modern nations emerged through industrialization, which required cultural homogeneity.
- In the Indian context, nation-building refers to efforts after Independence (1947) to forge unity amidst diversity through democracy, secularism, development, and constitutionalism.
Nation-Building in the Indian Context
India, as a pluralistic society, is home to immense ethnic, linguistic, caste, and religious diversity. The challenge of nation-building lay in creating unity without imposing uniformity.
Key initiatives for Indian nation-building:
- Constitutionalism and democracy (universal adult franchise).
- Secularism as a state policy to ensure religious neutrality.
- Linguistic reorganization of states (1956) balancing unity and regional aspirations.
- Planning and development as integrative tools.
- Education and media as instruments of national integration.
Role of Religion in Nation-Building
Religion plays a dual role in the process of nation-building — it can be both a unifying and divisive force.
(A) Positive Role of Religion in Nation-Building
- Cultural Integration:
- Religion in India has historically served as a cultural glue that binds people through shared festivals, moral codes, and social practices.
- Example: Celebrations like Diwali, Eid, Christmas, and Guru Nanak Jayanti promote cultural participation beyond religious boundaries.
- Moral Foundation:
- Religion provides ethical guidance and a moral framework essential for the social order.
- Émile Durkheim viewed religion as a source of collective conscience, strengthening solidarity and cohesion.
- Freedom Struggle and Nationalism:
- Many reform movements and leaders used religion as a tool for mobilizing people against colonial rule.
- Swami Vivekananda’s neo-Vedantism, Aurobindo’s spiritual nationalism, and Gandhi’s Sarva Dharma Sambhava (equal respect for all religions) linked spirituality with patriotism.
- Social Reform Movements:
- Brahmo Samaj (Raja Ram Mohan Roy), Arya Samaj (Dayananda Saraswati), and Aligarh Movement (Sir Syed Ahmed Khan) used religion to reform social evils and foster national awakening.
- Symbolic National Identity:
- Religious symbols often form part of national culture — e.g., Ashoka Chakra (Buddhist symbol of dharma) in the national flag represents moral righteousness and continuity with India’s spiritual past.
(B) Negative Role of Religion in Nation-Building
- Communalism and Partition:
- Religion-based politics led to Partition in 1947, one of the most traumatic events in India’s nation-building history.
- A.R. Desai saw communalism as a bourgeois strategy used by elites to divide the working classes along religious lines.
- Post-Independence Communal Tensions:
- Recurring communal riots (e.g., Gujarat 2002, Delhi 1984) have threatened national integration.
- T.K. Oommen warns that politicization of religion leads to “exclusive identities” that fragment the national consciousness.
- Challenges to Secularism:
- When religious identity supersedes national identity, it undermines the secular democratic fabric.
- The rise of religious fundamentalism and identity politics (e.g., Hindutva, Islamic radicalism) challenges the plural ethos.
Indian Thinkers on Religion and Nation-Building
| Thinker | View |
|---|---|
| Mahatma Gandhi | Advocated spiritual nationalism—religion as a moral force for unity, not division. |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Emphasized scientific temper and secularism as prerequisites for modern nation-building. |
| B.R. Ambedkar | Warned against caste-based Hindu orthodoxy; saw constitutional morality as the true religion of the nation. |
| A.R. Desai | Viewed religion as a tool of ruling classes to maintain control; supported a secular socialist approach. |
| T.K. Oommen | Highlighted the tension between religious pluralism and national integration, urging for inclusive secularism. |
Continuities and Challenges
Despite secular constitutional principles, religion continues to influence Indian politics, social life, and public culture. However, it has also contributed to social cohesion, moral guidance, and identity formation.
Modern India’s challenge lies in balancing religious pluralism with the ideals of secularism, equality, and democracy — ensuring that religion remains a cultural and moral resource, not a divisive political tool.
Conclusion
Religion in India has been both a source of unity and disunity. While it has historically shaped national identity and moral consciousness, its politicization has often threatened the secular character of the nation.
For sustainable nation-building, India must continue to uphold constitutional secularism, promote inter-faith harmony, and celebrate pluralism as strength, ensuring that religion serves the nation’s unity and moral progress, not its fragmentation.