"Finally, we should add that the concept of civilization-state has the merit of being more true to India’s real status than the concept of “nationalism”. In the days of the Freedom Movement, it made sense to be a nationalist for it meant not being loyal to foreign rulers. Heirs of that period, such as the Congress Party and the RSS “family”, still go on swearing by this concept. But now it is time for a more nuanced and precise understanding of what India is. Nationalism with its connotation of homogenization cannot do justice to India’s profound pluralism and respect for differences. Depending on how you define “nation”, India has known several divisions into what would be rated as “nation” elsewhere. Of course we can fuss over definitions and maintain that even complex and pluriform India is still a nation-state somehow. But it is more economical and more credible to dispense with this terminology altogether and call India a civilization-state."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Koenraad Elst, On Modi Time : Merits And Flaws of Hindu Activism In Its Day Of Incumbency – 2015 Ch 18
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hindu_nationalism
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Hindu nationalism
25 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Hindu nationalism →
Related Quotes
"“It is the subtle scheme of political propaganda to describe the Hindu as pro-Fascist. It is a cruel calumny which ha…"
"The idea of the ‘Hindu right’ is largely a ploy to discredit the Hindu movement as backward and prevent people from r…"
"The causes taken up by the Hindu movement are more at home in the New Left than in right wing parties of the West. So…"
"After the outbreak of Covid-19, one was hoping that the global calamity will be combated on top priority without any …"
"But some media outlets have chosen to craft a false narrative of intrigue by profiling and targeting all of my donors…"
"Bombay also used to be considered a pearl of the Orient, with its necklace of lights along the corniche and its magni…"
"It is sheer dishonesty or naivete to suggest, as is being widely suggested these days, that Hinduism can admit of the…"
"The examples of systematic institutional minorityism cited most often [by Hindu nationalists] are the separate person…"
"For all their focusing on the all-purpose bogey of Hindu nationalism (or worse isms), it is remarkable that Indian Ma…"
"I spoke once before with this force in me and I said then this movement is not a political movement and that national…"