Indian nationalism: civic, plural and constitutional

Detail

1. Anti-colonial nationalism: civic and plural

• Civic nationalism means the nation is held together by shared citizenship, rights and political ideals. It is not based on one religion, race or language. Plural nationalism means many cultures and faiths can live inside one nation without having to become the same.
• Indian anti-colonial nationalism was largely civic and plural:
• Indian National Congress (1885): its platform was open to people of every religion, region and language.

• Gandhian mass nationalism: the Khilafat–Non-Cooperation movement (1919–22) brought Hindus and Muslims together in one mass struggle against British rule.

• NCERT (Nehru's idea): Indian unity was a oneness that rests on shared political ideals. Indian citizenship can hold many identities at once, so a person can be Tamil, Muslim and Indian together.

2. Composite nationalism vs the two-nation theory

• Composite nationalism (muttahida qaumiyat): the idea that Indians of all religions form one nation. On this view, a nation rests on a shared homeland and a shared political future, not on a shared faith.
• Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani (Deoband), Muttahida Qaumiyat aur Islam (1938):
• He argued that Muslims could belong to one Indian nation and still keep their faith.

• He wrote it against Muhammad Iqbal and the two-nation theory. The two-nation theory is the claim that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations and so need separate homelands.

• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, presidential address at the Ramgarh session of the Congress (1940):

• He said he was proud to be both an Indian and a Muslim.

• He said that a thousand years of shared life had made Indians one nation.

• Rival ideas:

• Lahore Resolution (March 1940) of the Muslim League (the "Pakistan Resolution"). It demanded separate states for the Muslim-majority areas, which is the two-nation theory in political form.

• Hindu nationalist ideas of the nation, which defined the nation by Hindu culture.

• Partition (1947) was the defeat of the composite idea. Free India still built its Constitution on civic and plural lines. The full story is covered in the history subject and the nation-building topic.

3. Constitutional design of a civic nation

(a) Preamble

• It opens with "We, the People of India". The source of power is the citizens, not a religion or an ethnic group.
• Fraternity (a sense of brotherhood among all citizens) assures two things:
• the dignity of the individual, and

• the unity and integrity of the Nation. The word "integrity" was added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

• The same amendment also added "socialist" and "secular" to the Preamble.

(b) Art. 1–4: an indestructible union of destructible states

• Art. 1: "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." It is called a "Union" because the states did not join by an agreement among themselves, and they cannot leave it.
• Indestructible union of destructible states: the Union cannot be broken up, but Parliament can change, merge or split the states.

Provision	What it does	How Parliament acts
Art. 2	Admits or sets up new states that were not part of India	Ordinary law
Art. 3	Forms new states and changes the area, borders or names of existing states	(1) Bill needs the President's recommendation → (2) President sends it to the affected state legislature for its views within a set time (the views do not bind Parliament) → (3) passed by simple majority
Art. 4	Laws under Arts. 2 and 3 can amend Schedules 1 and 4	These laws are not amendments under Art. 368

(c) Single citizenship and a secular state

• Single citizenship (Arts. 5–11): there is only Indian citizenship. There is no separate state citizenship, unlike the USA.
• Secular state: the state has no official religion. It treats all faiths equally (Arts. 25–28).

(d) Language: no national language

• The Constitution names no "national language".
• Art. 343(1): the official language of the Union is Hindi in the Devanagari script. Official purposes use the international form of Indian numerals.
• Art. 343(2): English was to continue for 15 years from 1950.
• Munshi–Ayyangar formula:
• It was a compromise named after K.M. Munshi and N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar.
• It was moved in the Constituent Assembly on 12 September 1949, after heated debate on whether India should have a national language [8].

• Hindi became an official language, not a national one, and English continued with it [8].

• Eighth Schedule: it began with 14 languages and now has 22 [8].

• Official Languages Act, 1963: English continues alongside Hindi for official Union work even after the 15-year period ended in 1965.
• Three-language formula:
• Pupils learn the mother tongue or regional language, plus Hindi, plus English.
• In non-Hindi states, the second language is a modern Indian language other than the state's own.

(e) Fundamental Duties: Art. 51A (added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976)

Clause	Duty
51A(c)	Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
51A(e)	Promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood across religion, language and region; give up practices that insult the dignity of women
51A(f)	Value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture

• Fundamental Duties are non-justiciable: a court cannot directly enforce them.

(f) National symbols

• Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971: it punishes insulting the National Flag, the Constitution or the National Anthem.
• Flag Code of India, 2002: a set of executive rules on how the flag may be displayed. It allows private citizens to fly the flag on all days, with respect.
• Union of India v. Naveen Jindal (2004):
• Flying the national flag with respect is part of freedom of expression under Art. 19(1)(a).
• The right is subject to reasonable restrictions under Art. 19(2).

4. Contemporary debates

(a) Voluntary vs compelled patriotism

• Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986):
• Three Jehovah's Witness children were expelled from school. They stood respectfully during the anthem but did not sing, because singing it went against their faith.
• The Court ordered them taken back. Standing in silence shows no disrespect.

• The Court relied on Art. 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech, which also covers the right to stay silent) and Art. 25 (freedom of conscience).

• Shyam Narayan Chouksey v. Union of India:

• An interim order of 30 November 2016 made it compulsory for cinemas to play the anthem, with the audience standing.

• On 9 January 2018 the Court made playing the anthem optional.

• The core question: can patriotism be ordered by law, or must it be freely felt?

(b) Dissent and the "anti-national" label

• Sedition (old IPC s. 124A) is no longer an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. A new offence of acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India has taken its place [4].
• BNS s. 152 covers anyone who purposely or knowingly excites or tries to excite secession, armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages separatist feelings, or endangers sovereignty, unity and integrity [5].
• It covers words, signs, electronic communication and the use of financial means [5].

• Punishment: life imprisonment, or imprisonment up to 7 years, plus a fine [5].

• Explanation to s. 152: criticising government actions in order to change them by lawful means, without stirring up the acts listed above, is not an offence [5].

• The debate is whether the new wording is narrower than sedition or just as broad. Pointer: political-theory-liberty-rights.

(c) Jammu & Kashmir: integration vs federal autonomy

• August 2019: Article 370 was made inoperative through Presidential Orders and resolutions of Parliament [2]. The state was reorganised into two Union Territories.
• In re Article 370 of the Constitution, 2023 INSC 1058 (5-judge Constitution Bench, 11 December 2023) [3] held that:
• the former state of J&K had no internal sovereignty [2];
• Art. 370 was a temporary provision [2];
• the President could declare Art. 370 inoperative without the recommendation of the J&K Constituent Assembly, which had already been dissolved [2];

• the J&K Constitution is now inoperative and redundant [2].

• The Court did not rule on whether turning a state into UTs is valid. It directed the ECI to hold assembly elections by 30 September 2024 and said statehood should be restored as soon as possible [2].

• The debate:
• Integration view: one Constitution applies across India.
• Federal view: a state was downgraded without its own legislature's consent.

(d) North–South tensions

• Language: southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, resist the three-language formula when it is seen as imposing Hindi. This debate has a long history, including the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation.
• Delimitation (redrawing constituency borders and Lok Sabha seats by population):
• The seat freeze runs until after the first Census after 2026 (84th Amendment, 2001).
• Southern states, which controlled population growth, fear losing seats to more populous northern states.

(e) Vande Mataram at 150

• Bankimchandra Chatterji is believed to have written the national song on 7 November 1875 (Akshaya Navami) [6].
• The National Implementation Committee approved a year-long commemoration on 24 October 2025 [6].
• The commemoration runs from 7 November 2025 to 7 November 2026 [6].
• The PM inaugurated it on 7 November 2025 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi [7]:
• A commemorative coin and postage stamp were released [7].

• People across the country sang the full version of the song together [7].

• The debate is the same as in (a): can national symbols be honoured in many ways, or must everyone honour them in one way?

5. NCERT's conclusion

• A democratic nation rests on loyalty to shared constitutional values and mutual obligations among citizens. It does not need everyone to be the same in religion, language or culture.
• Indian nationalism is therefore civic (built on citizenship and rights), plural (it allows many identities) and constitutional (its anchor is the Constitution, not one culture).

Prelims Hooks

• "Integrity" in "unity and integrity of the Nation" was added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976. "Unity" was in the original Preamble.
• Trap: the Constitution names no national language. Art. 343 makes Hindi in Devanagari the official language of the Union.
• Munshi–Ayyangar formula gave the language compromise behind Arts. 343–351 (moved on 12 September 1949) [8].
• Art. 3 bills need the President's recommendation. The affected state's views are not binding, and the bill passes by simple majority. It is not an Art. 368 amendment (Art. 4).
• Art. 51A(f) is the duty to preserve the composite culture, and 51A(e) is common brotherhood. Do not mix them up with 51A(c) (sovereignty, unity, integrity).
• Naveen Jindal (2004): flying the flag is part of Art. 19(1)(a). Bijoe Emmanuel (1986): there is no duty to sing the anthem, so standing in silence is enough.
• BNS s. 152: life imprisonment or up to 7 years. It expressly allows lawful criticism of government actions [5].
• In re Article 370 (11 December 2023): Art. 370 was temporary, and J&K had no internal sovereignty [2][3].
• Composite nationalism: Madani's Muttahida Qaumiyat aur Islam (1938) and Azad at Ramgarh (1940). Opposite idea: the Lahore Resolution (1940).
• The 150th year of Vande Mataram (written 1875) is being commemorated from 7 November 2025 to 7 November 2026 [6].

Mains Points

• Civic vs cultural nationalism (GS-I/II):
• Composite nationalism lost politically in 1947.
• It still won constitutionally: "We, the People", secularism, single citizenship, no national language, and the Art. 51A(f) duty to preserve composite culture.

• Use Nehru's "oneness" and Azad's Ramgarh speech to argue that unity does not need uniformity.

• Voluntary vs compelled patriotism (GS-II):

• Courts have moved between two positions: Bijoe Emmanuel (conscience protected), the Chouksey 2016 order (compulsion), and the 2018 change (choice).

• The balance: protect national symbols under the 1971 Act and the Flag Code, but do not make shows of loyalty a test of citizenship.

• Security vs dissent (GS-II):

• BNS s. 152 drops the word "sedition" and adds a lawful-criticism explanation [4][5].
• But terms like "subversive activities" and "separatist feelings" are vague and could be misused against dissent.

• Reform ideas: tie the offence to incitement to violence, and set safeguards for when police can file cases.

• Integration vs federal autonomy (GS-II):

• The Art. 370 judgment shows the Union's strong powers over states (Arts. 2–4) [2].
• Delimitation and the language question test whether India's diversity is truly accommodated.
• Possible answers: restore J&K statehood on time, freeze seats or weight them so states that controlled population are not penalised, and apply the three-language formula flexibly.