Composite nationalism
Also called: Muttahida Qaumiyat · Topic: Nationalism and National Self-determination · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Composite nationalism, also called Muttahida Qaumiyat, is the idea that Indians of every religion form one single nation. Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani argued this in Muttahida Qaumiyat aur Islam (1938), in reply to Iqbal. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad made the same case in his Ramgarh address (1940). It rejected both the Muslim League's two-nation theory and Hindu nationalist ideas. Partition in 1947 was its defeat, but its civic and plural spirit shaped the Constitution.
Example
In 1940 the Muslim League's Lahore Resolution claimed that Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations. That same year, Azad's Ramgarh address answered that Indian Muslims were part of one shared Indian nation.
Don't confuse with
- Two-nation theory: it held that religion makes Hindus and Muslims separate nations. Composite nationalism says religion does not divide the nation.
- Composite culture (Art. 51A(f)): this is a Fundamental Duty to value and keep India's mixed heritage. Composite nationalism is a theory about who makes up the nation.