Don’t Thrust Nationalism Upon Us: DU Student’s Appeal to Govt

Tokenism must not take precedence over genuine patriotic sentiment, writes DU student Anushka Baruah.

Earlier this week, the HRD ministry decided that it will make it mandatory for central universities to fly the national flag atop a 207-feet mast. The decision comes in the midst of the incensed clamour over JNU student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar being arrested on charges of sedition and is expected to inculcate a “sense of unity and integrity” amongst the youth of the country.

I, as a youth of the country and student of a central university, see little point in this move made by Smriti Irani and co. Don’t get me wrong, I like my country very much. I am a happy customer at Fabindia (I used to be happier, prices are far too high now), watch cricket World Cups with an average amount of enthusiasm, and come from a family where ‘nationalism’ and its symbols are appreciated a fair amount – my mother recounts the time she was the only person standing in all of Chanakya when the national anthem played in Chak De! India with great pride.

My sister and I spent our toddler-years outside India, but our parents ensured that we learnt Jana Gana Mana through my father’s much-used CD that had various versions by India’s foremost musicians. It was one of my favourite songs as a child – I was that well acquainted with it.

Frankly, I do not understand what our government is hoping to achieve with this move. It seems to be a painfully pathetic response to the tumult that is blazing through the country. Do they regard this as an effective solution to the problem that we ‘anti-national’, ‘anti-establishment’ students are? Or is it just to gently inform us that we are, in fact, not in Pakistan?

I have no objection to the flag or even the idea of hoping to arouse a greater sense of pride in the nation. What I object to is how it is being thrust upon us; how tokenism is beginning to take precedence over genuine patriotic sentiment. It is unnecessarily jingoistic and, in all probability, counter-productive. Just like shouting slogans doesn’t constitute sedition, flying a flag can’t bring about patriotic fervour.

All things aside, the flag is a symbol of national pride – that the RSS at one point wanted to dissociate itself from completely, and the further our saffron wearing goons are from something, the happier I am. As my sister (who is hysterically cramming before a history exam) tells me, the government’s move is essentially fascism – ‘forced’ or ‘aggressive’ nationalism is one of the principles of a fascist regime.

As a student of Delhi University, a place where there are more rickshaws than people, the other issue I see with the tri-colour being displayed “proudly and prominently” is purely practical – where are they planning to erect this great instigator of patriotism?  

I do not need nationalism forced down my throat; the nation is not an entity that I am required to worship blindly and exalt to an impenetrable, almost deity-like position. However, I will continue to defend our ‘unsafe’ cities to ignorant ‘firangs’, whose arguments are potentially stronger than mine; feel that thrill when people are incredulous at my country’s development; and take it as a personal affront when we are criticised by outsiders, because that is a right which belongs solely to us Indians.

My love for the country, which should, given all that has been happening, be diminishing, is innate, and not something an over-sized pole and its accompanying piece of cloth can draw out of me.

(Anushka Baruah is a second year student of Ramjas College, Delhi University)