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| Why Hindu Rashtra? |
WHY HINDU RASHTRA ? |
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State and Nation - Different EntitiesAnd still there are some gentlemen who dub Hindu Rashtra -- the only Rashtra inspired with the vision Of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The whole world is one big family)--as opposed to secularism. In the first place, it is wrong even to put the two concepts in the same category for comparison. Secularism or impartial treatment of all religious communities is just an attribute of the state, whereas the State is an instrument created by the nation for its protection and development. If the nation were to be likened to an individual, nationalism is like his soul, the country is like his body, and state his dress. The purpose of dress is to protect the human body, enhance its dignity and beauty and help it perform its functions smoothly. The purpose of the state, similarly, is to safeguard the country and its honour in the world and help it discharge its various functions. Just as a congenial dress keeps the individual in fine spirits and the one imposed on him against his will makes him dull and depressed, a government reflecting the will of the people helps them to manifest their potentialities, whereas a government imposed from outside becomes a source of hindrance and frustration. That also explains why, when the nation's soul is awake. the nation struggles to free itself from the shackles of foreign serfdom.That the state and the nation are different entities is also borne out by instances where there are many states in a single nation and many nations in a single state. There is but one German nation, but it was divided into two states. Soviet Russia is one state but it has within it many nationalities like Ukrainian, Georgian, Tazikian and Kazakh. Ireland is one nation but divided into two states. China is one state but harbours two nations Chinese and Tibetan. It is true that the existence of one nation one state with co-terminus boundaries of nation and state is considered ideal in modern political thought. From this point of view the state-based nation and nation-based state have been considered desirable. State-based nation means that all the people living within the boundaries of one particular state should be assimilated in a common nationhood characterised by common point of devotion, common ideas and common values of life. Such as effort is being made in certain states of Africa today. Then there is the urge for nation-based state to bring all the people imbued with a community of convictions, ideals and values of life and a feeling of we-ness under the canopy of one state. Such an attempt has borne fruit in Vietnam and is going on in Germany and Korea. In the past, Bharat also was divided into a number of states from time to time, but the stream of national life has remained one and intact. |
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