Cultural Nationalism - Myths and Reality

" Cultural nationalism is a form of nationalism in which the nation is defined by a shared (inherited) culture, as opposed to, for instance, its ethnicity or its institutions." - Wikipedia.

In the recent years, vested and crooked interests are being served in the name of nationalism, ethnicity, religion along with a topping of our ancient cultural beliefs and practices. Beliefs and practices are mostly dependent on the contemporary conditions prevalent in the country, be it political, social or religious. Our beliefs, the value system are more or less dependent upon how we perceive the world we live in, how it affects our basic needs of life. Once fulfilled, the human mind tries and transcends boundaries which otherwise would seem obsolete or much far-fledged. A sense of aura and belief in the righteousness and truthfulness of our customs and traditions and negating the right to others to try and propagate their beliefs and practices, seems to some as preserving their value system, their culture. Hinduism, Christianity, Islam having the largest number of followers, some sort of a ghettoization occurs. The state and the machinery also to some extent seem to be a mirror image of the society and people start believing that one who accepts the beliefs, practices, customs of the majority can qualify to be one among them or atleast a protege and others seem to be an intrusion into their social sphere. In the recent times, people following other customs and culture are often seen as a threat to the overall integrity and a sense of oneness of the society. People forget that the social fabric woven with the ideas from different beliefs, practices, idealogies interwined makes it even more stronger and divergent. Life on a single platform would seem to be highly monotonous and derived of the pleasure of peeping on the other side of the fence.

The events in India in the last two decades changed the entire scenario of looking at secularism. It all began by the killings of Kashmiri Brahmins by the more fanatic militants and therafter by the growing feeling of hindutva flared by the leadership of Bhartiya Janta Party, RSS and the likes. Suddenly, we started hearing references to the mughal ruler Aurangzeb and Babur, questions like even when hindus are in majority still they can't build a temple at the place of their choice. Society was divided on the basis of caste lines and INDIANS were divided into Hindus, Muslims, Christians. Supplemented by the terrorist activities in the other parts of the world, muslims started being considered as perpetrators of hatred, violence and unrest. Parties like BJP, who initially flourished on the basis of this hindutva brigade find it hard to contain them. Being an Indian has started to find some sort of resonance with the idea that this is a Hindu land and others living here may consider themselves blesses, atleast this is what the political class tried to convey to the general public.

After 1992, cultural nationalism is often confused as nationalism. People assert their nationalism on the basis of culture or beliefs. Cultural nationalism when caters to uniting the nation against myths, superstitions is a great force and a belief which should take the country forward but when it tends to break down the civil society into heterogeneous group often at crossroads with each other then it is nothing more than a myth, a mirage. The younger generation today, on one hand seems to going great guns about the technological advancements, social networking and the western lifestyle but when it comes to giving something to the society, they seem mentally bankrupt. Society is polarised and lines of fire drawn between different communities. People don't trust each other and the real nationalism takes a back seat, a nationalism which should augment the nation building process, actually tries to pull it down. It is high time we give CULTURE and NATION its rightful place and then the country will prosper.

The night sky

Somehow my observation of the night sky makes me believe that the density of the stars on a summer night is far higher than when the winter has set in. I remember when i was a small kid and we use to sometimes sleep on the roof during the summers, there use to be no electricity often in our small town and almost all of the neighbourhood use to sleep on their roofs or outside their houses (not on the road - villages/towns have something called a baramda / sitout), i use to remain wide awake watching the stars, some use to occasionally wink, some seemed bright and the other less in brightness. Among the different structures i use to make by joining them, virtually, the Saptarishi as we call them, attracted me the most. While people had their own versions of how they adorned the sky and what there shape was, to me it always seems as the numeral 2 rotated 90 degree to the right (remembered my first LOGO program RT90 must be the command). Always seemed to be in the northeast side, i had a sort of friendship with them, the sight gave me a feeling of comfort and peace, i acknowledged that now is the time to forget all the other things and sleep well for a good day tomorrow. Even in our college, i use to lay in the nights on our hut shaped roof and watch them, sometimes for hours and peace use to be mine.

After a long time, last sunday, i found my friends back again. I went to Mayajal multiplex in chennai and when i came out of the movie MNIK (good one, one time watch) i saw them in the clear night sky. The night was cool and silence abound, i sat on my bike in the parking area and gazed for a few minutes. The Saptarishi as if reminding me of the real essence of life. Night and day complete each other, one without the other is incomplete and cannot serve the purpose. Even in the darkness of night, the stars signify some brightness, they give hope of a new morning full of life, warmth and vigour awaiting the individual. Only because of the night, the day seems bright. In life, we may have shortfalls, failures but maybe it is the way of life. If there is night, then maybe there will be light too. Keep going on in life, making sure we do not hurt others and think about them the same as we think others should feel about us. Many a times, we fail on certain aspects and commit follies which are condemnable, but if an incumbent learns from his mistake then maybe there will again be light.

WISHING ALL OF YOU MORE AND MORE BRIGHTNESS IN YOUR LIFE.

I saw my friends for 10-15 minutes and then rode back home, only to come back and seek solitude in their dim light and make a better person.

Religion vs Science - the age old tussle

The world we live in is a heterogeneous mix of people belonging to different caste, creed, culture, diverse ideas and beliefs. Man, in the pursuit of his desires, tries to explore all the avenues of this world, be it natural or supernatural. Man is termed as the smartest animal, who differs from others because of the advanced mind, which nature has bestowed.
With each day bringing new ideas and inventions to the fore, the age old divide between religion and science has widened. To some, God, his beliefs, teachings from religious scriptures, saints, is a way of life while for others anything beyond logic and proof ain't worth looking into.
Since ages, people would debate on what was good and worthy and what not. In the pursuit of their desires, they tried to explore all the avenues available and often came to startling observations of the world we live in.


Science teaches us the art of life. What we see, feel, hear and do in our normal lives, the technology we use all seem to be manifestations of the various options that go in the making of nature. The use of scientific methods and applications expose us to the WAY different things work and the various principles governing them. With the advancement of technology, we have been able to harness different forms of energy and use them in making our life more comfortable. Science has not only contributed towards the comforts of our lives but also in the eradication of terminal diseases, control and pre-information of natural calamities, pest control for crops, information and communication technology and the likes.

Religion on the other hand, though talks about a power which is central to our lives, an unseen controller of our fates, the incidents in our lives, a sort of governor of man's past, present and future. But, the central idea there too is on WHAT to do - actions , so that a human being may live with dignity, respect the independence of others around him, have and show virtues central to making this world a better place.

In short, religion teaches us the WHAT TO DO in life and science HOW TO DO and thus religion and science seem to complement each other. One without the other, may not be able to do justice and serve the mankind the way it is possible now.