Nationalism works in strange ways. When I was in school we were made to pledge for our country and sing the national anthem every day. After school, some of my friends went for different jobs. Some dreamt of becoming an army officer.
The job of an army-person is revered a lot, in spite of the risks associated with it. The army personnel do not earn a huge amount of salary, neither do they hold a position of great power or influence. Moreover, they have to follow a hierarchy which is extremely rigid, and if you question it, you are terminated from the service.
However, there is a hype around the profession and an urge to be a part of it. But have you ever wondered what has created this hype? Probably the educational institutes, the media, and every other organization. And on the top of these organizations are the bureaucrats and the corporates. They need a labor force to protect them as well as their rule in the land. Hence, they try their best to imbibe the spirit of nationalism among the citizens, right from the beginning. But are these bureaucrats and the corporates, also nationalists? Or they just need the army to suppress the voice of the people who question them?
Every year, a lot of people join the army because they want to serve their motherland. They take pride in their jobs. But what exactly do they pride upon? The nation, which comprises its people? I believe, the love for one’s region/land is a natural human instinct, as it is inhabited by your loved ones. Thus, the patriotism emanates from one’s heart because of the connection that one feels with the people living in a region or country. Hence, arises the need for armed forces to protect the land(people). However, this in no way, should violate the rights of the people if they want to associate themselves with some other region.
However, the corporates and the bureaucrats have defined it as per their own narratives. At present, that narrative is extremely fascist in nature. The Modi government which has failed in implementing One Rank One Pension(OROP), or providing the army with better facilities, boasts about its nationalism and even holds the right to tag people who don’t adhere to its views, as anti-national.
People have started confusing jingoism for nationalism, and the series of events that transpired in the last few years made it quite evident. As the valley of Kashmir is marred by the blatant violation of human rights, the first surgical strike and the hype over it by the Modi government was more of a political gimmick, to shift the focus from the real issues plaguing the valley. Nationalism has been saffronized and fuelled with anti-Pakistan sentiments.
When the Pulwama attack took place, nationalism also got a tinge of ‘being anti-Kashmir’. Kashmiris residing in different states were attacked by mobs, and the government did not bother to condemn or stop such incidents. A message was given that Indian cares about the land of Kashmir, not the people residing on it. The media channels, the reporters and the elite class further ignited this sentiment by chest thumping and warmongering.
Also, the politicians with their rhetoric statements, made it sound as if the war is about to begin. On the other hand, there were a bunch of radical leftists and the liberals who even mocked the death of our soldiers. Some went to the extent of saying that they have not sacrificed their lives, as it was their job and they were getting paid for it. While a few others claimed that they deserved it, because of all their misdeeds in Kashmir.
It is saddening to find that these radical leftists and the liberals, who claim to be the disciples of Marx, do not consider the jawans as a part of the exploited labor(proletariat ) class, who are conditioned by the hyper-nationalist and hyper-masculine environment. Army personnel live a life under the diktats of their superior, who in turn follow the commands of the bureaucrats. Such incessant death of the soldiers is a national travesty, and must not be glorified.
The surgical strike that took place on February 26, 2019, was again an attempt to arouse the nationalistic sentiment by disparaging Pakistan. Reports were released claiming that 200-300 terrorists have been killed and the camps of Jaish-E-Mohommad have been completely destroyed. Various news agencies tried their best in politicizing the issue by releasing fake data and news on social media.
However, the very next day it was reported that Wing Commander Abhinandan has been captured by Pakistan. In all these events, the only thing that has been constant is the rising death toll on both sides of the border. The Modi government, the corporates, the hate mongering elite class, the radical leftists and the liberals are all safe, unaffected by any of these events. It’s the jawans who were and will be sacrificed in this war of hate and politics.
I don’t consider their deaths as ‘martyrdom’, because they are just people belonging to the working class dying, for the vested interests of the elites(buorgeois). And do we really remember even a single name of these ‘heroes’? However, we would have remembered the name if it would have been an accidental death of any of the bureaucrats or a politician.
Its high time that we understand that this form of nationalism is propaganda to maintain a hierarchy by normalizing this exploitation of the jawans. Nationalism has its pro and cons, and by bringing in the good parts of it, we can strengthen the process of nation-building. However, one has to accept that it is not infallible.