State and identity

NATION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN SOUTH ASIA: S. L. Sharma and T. K. Oommen; Orient Longman Ltd., 1/24, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi- 110020. Rs. 300.

THE PAKISTANI political leader Abdul Wali Khan (son of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) was asked few years ago by a journalist, ``Are you a Pakistani, a Muslim or a Pathan?'' Wali Khan replied that he combined all the three characteristics. The journalist persisted and asked Wali Khan what was his primary identity. He responded, ``I am a Pakistani for 30 years, a Muslim for 1400 years and a Pathan for 5000 years.''

The multiple identity of South Asians, an intrinsic feature of the socio-political profile of the region, has made the task of nation building in South Asia a fascinating and exciting exercise. The book under review is a reproduction of some good papers originally published in the Sociological Bullet under the theme ``Nation and national identity in South Asia''.

The authors seek to ``conceptualise the experience of nation formation and deformation in South Asia'' with reference to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The book would have been further enriched if the authors had also included other countries in South Asia, namely Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.

Political scientists unfortunately use the term nation and state as synonymous and this semantic confusion has done incalculable harm for understanding the politics of developing countries. A survey of the world's 132 states in 1971 found that only 12 (9 per cent) could justifiably be classified as ``nation-states'' in the sense of the boundaries of the ``territorial-juridical identity being co-terminus or approximately co-terminus with the distribution of a particular national group.''

The statement made by Massimo d'Azeglu, with special reference to Italy after unification holds true of most states, which came into existence after the Second World War. ``We have made Italy, now we must make Italians.''

The rise of ethno-nationalism and intensification of ethnic conflicts in different parts of the world raises an interesting theoretical question, which many Marxian social scientists have so far not only ignored, but also considered as taboo. They subscribed to the view that the processes of industrialisation and modernisation would dissolve ethnic identities and create new identities based on class formations.

Recent developments belie this claim. The political assertion of various nationalities in the Soviet Union, the revolutionary changes which have taken place in Eastern Europe and Central Europe, the demands of the Blacks in the U.S., the Irish conflict in the U.K., the developments in Fiji, problems facing the ethnic Chinese in South-East Asian countries - all these are not only illustrations of the pervasiveness of ethnicity, but also underline the possibilities of the exacerbation of ethnic conflicts in the years to come.

However, it is necessary to keep one important point in mind. Whether harmony or conflict governs inter-ethnic relationships in multi-cultural societies hinges, to a large extent, upon whether the political system provides for tolerance of each other's beliefs and value systems. In those countries where the dominant political theme is ``ethnicisation of politics'' or ``politicisation of ethnic communities'' the chances of escalation of ethnic conflicts are more.

Prof. T. K. Oommen sums up succinctly. He underlines the necessity to distinguish between citizenship and nationality. Citizenship alludes to membership in a politico-legal identity, namely the state and the rights and responsibilities flowing from it.

Nation refers to a cultural identity. All countries in South Asia, except Maldives, are a plurality of nations. Our goal must be the harmonious co-existence of a plurality of nations within a democratic federal state.

And if the problem is tackled with sympathy and understanding, a nation ``need not aspire for a state of its own.'' This is the primary challenge for the leaders of South Asia.

V. SURYANARAYAN

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