History, homeland and shared political ideals

Detail

1. History: the nation as a story through time

• Nation: a large group of people who feel they belong together and want to govern themselves. Some of what binds them is real, such as land and language. Much of it is imagined: they will never meet most of their fellow members.
• Continuity: nations see themselves stretching back into the past and forward into the future. A nation does not feel like a group formed yesterday.
• How a nation builds its identity from the past:
• Collective memories: events that a whole people "remembers" together, such as wars, migrations and struggles.
• Legends: stories about heroes and origins.
• Historical records: documents, monuments and written history.

• Together these give the nation one continuing identity across many generations.

• The Indian case: Indian nationalists pointed to India's ancient civilisation and its cultural achievements. They argued that India had a long and unbroken civilisation, so India was a nation long before British rule.

• Nehru's The Discovery of India (1946):
• Nehru wrote it while he was jailed in Ahmednagar Fort (Maharashtra), 1942–45. It was published in 1946 [2].
• It traces Indian history from ancient times to the British period [2].
• It speaks of India's "diversity and infinite variety" with "that tremendous impress of oneness".

• It stresses secularism and the basic unity of India despite its many ethnic and religious groups. It uses this history to argue for India's right to independence and self-determination [2].

• Unity in diversity: the idea that one deep shared identity lies beneath many languages, religions, castes and regions. Differences are not erased. They sit inside a larger "oneness".

• Constitutional echo: the Constitution makes it a Fundamental Duty (a duty every citizen is expected to perform) "to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture" (Article 51A(f)). Article 51A was added by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 and changed by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002 [S9].
• Caution: history is a double-edged tool.
• It is selective. History used for nation-building picks the events that suit the nation's story and leaves out others.
• The past is contested. Different groups remember the same past differently, so disputes over history can turn into conflict in the present.

2. Territory: the homeland

• Homeland: the land a nation sees as its own because its people have lived there together for a long time. Long shared living on the land creates a shared identity.
• Nations give it emotional names: motherland, fatherland or holy land.
• A homeland claimed from a distance: the Jewish people and Palestine
• The Jewish people lived scattered across the world (the diaspora) but still claimed Palestine as the "promised land".
• Zionism: the political movement for a Jewish national home in Palestine.
• Balfour Declaration, 2 November 1917: the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Balfour, wrote to the Zionist movement. Britain promised to help set up "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine [3].
  • The letter added a condition: "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities" [3].
• Large-scale Jewish immigration began after the First World War. It went on under the British Mandate (rule over a territory entrusted by the League of Nations) of 1922 [3].
• 14 May 1948: the State of Israel proclaimed itself. It relied on the Zionist programme, the Balfour Declaration, the Mandate and the UN Partition Resolution [3].

• Palestinian Arabs rejected the Balfour Declaration and opposed a Jewish national home. This was a root of the conflict [3].

• The Indian case: the Indian nation identifies with the subcontinent's rivers, mountains and regions, such as the Himalayas and the Ganga. The land itself becomes a national symbol.

• Why the homeland causes conflict:
• More than one people may claim the same land as its homeland.
• Each sees the land as part of who it is, so neither will give it up.
• Result: long-running disputes, for example Israel-Palestine and Kashmir.

3. Irredentism

• Irredentism: a claim by one state to land held by another state. The claim rests on one of two grounds:
• "our" people (same ethnic or national group) live there; or

• the land once belonged to "us" (historical ties) [4].

• Origin of the word: Italian irredento, "unredeemed" [4].

• Italia irredenta: in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italian patriots wanted to "free" Italian-speaking lands from foreign rule. These included Trentino, Trieste, Istria, Gorizia, Nice, Corsica, Ticino and Malta, which were under Austrian, Swiss, French and British rule [5].

• Greater Somalia (Somalia irredenta): Somalia's flag carried a five-pointed star. Three of its points stood for Somali-inhabited lands outside Somalia: Djibouti, northern Kenya and Ethiopia's Ogaden. The aim was to unite all Somalis in one state [6].

• Crimea (2014): Russia annexed Crimea, a part of Ukraine, in 2014.
• 16 March 2014: a referendum was held in Crimea.
• 27 March 2014: UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 ("Territorial integrity of Ukraine") said the referendum had "no validity" and could not change Crimea's status [7].

• Vote: 100 in favour, 11 against, 58 abstentions. States were asked not to recognise any change in the status of Crimea or Sevastopol [8].

• Why it matters: irredentist claims mean taking land from another state. So they often lead to ethnic conflict and war [4].

4. Shared political ideals: the strongest basis of a nation

• What makes a nation different from other groups: members share a vision of the future, and of the state they want to build. They also share a collective wish for an independent political existence (their own state).
• Shared values: members agree on values such as democracy, secularism (the state does not favour any religion) and liberalism (individual freedom and limited government). These are the terms on which they agree to live together.
• Together these values form the nation's political identity. This is separate from ethnic, religious or linguistic identity.
• Why this is the most desirable basis in a democracy:
• History, religion or language can shut out minorities. Commitment to shared political values is open to anyone who accepts them.

• Chain of obligation:

  • Citizens recognise each other's rights.
  • That recognition creates obligations (duties) to one another.
  • Accepting those duties is "the strongest test of loyalty to the nation".

• Indian anchor: citizens' duties include "to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions" (Article 51A(a)). They also include promoting "harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood" across "religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities" (Article 51A(e)) [S9].

Comparison: three bases of national identity

Basis	What binds members	Strength	Risk
History	Shared memories, legends, records	Gives depth and continuity	Selective; disputes over the past
Territory	Long shared living on a homeland	Strong emotional pull	Rival claims, irredentism, war
Shared political ideals	Agreed values and vision of the state	Open to all; based on rights and duties	Needs constant commitment from citizens

Prelims Hooks

• The Discovery of India was written in Ahmednagar Fort jail (1942–45) and published in 1946. It is the source of "diversity and infinite variety" with "that tremendous impress of oneness".
• Irredentism comes from the Italian irredento, "unredeemed". It began with the 19th-century Italian claims to Trentino, Trieste and Istria.
• Balfour Declaration: 2 November 1917, a British pledge of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. Israel proclaimed itself on 14 May 1948.
• Somalia irredenta: the star on Somalia's flag stood for Djibouti, northern Kenya and the Ogaden (Ethiopia).
• UNGA Resolution 68/262 (27 March 2014): declared the Crimea referendum invalid. Vote: 100 for, 11 against, 58 abstentions.
• Article 51A(f): duty to value and preserve the "rich heritage of our composite culture". Article 51A(c): duty to uphold the "sovereignty, unity and integrity of India".
• Article 51A was inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 (trap: it was not in the original 1950 Constitution).
• Trap: NCERT names shared political ideals, not common religion, language or territory, as the most desirable basis of a democratic nation.

Mains Points

• History as a resource and a risk: a shared past (Nehru's "oneness") can unite a diverse society. But selective, contested history can deepen divisions. A civic reading of history that values "composite culture" (Article 51A(f)) is safer than an exclusive one.
• Homeland claims and peace: overlapping homeland claims (Israel-Palestine, Kashmir) and irredentism (Crimea 2014, Greater Somalia) show that tying nationhood to land can clash with territorial integrity and the UN Charter order. This is relevant to GS-II on international relations.
• Civic vs ethnic nationalism in India: the Constitution grounds Indian nationhood in shared political values (democracy, secularism, rights) rather than one religion or language. This is what allows unity in diversity.
• Loyalty as duty, not slogan: NCERT's test of loyalty, accepting duties that arise from others' rights, matches the Fundamental Duties (Article 51A(a), (e)). It argues for civic education over coercive patriotism.