11. Must every Nations have a state?
Ans. It is not at all necessary that every nation must have its separate state. IN practice, the ideal of nation states can cause many problems. All states, contain some kind of racial, religious and ethnic or cultural diversities and the principle of self-determination could break these states into small parts (states). Such states would not be viable and get disintegrated after short period leading to miserable displacement of people from one place to another. In fact a nation state never existed in perfect stable shape anywhere in the world.
12. What demand can a nation make on its citizens?
Ans. Now a days, state is considered to be the most important means for all round development of an individual. Every democratic state grants various rights- social, economic and political to its citizens by the use of which citizens are able to live a peaceful life and participate in the affairs of the state. In return for these rights, citizens have certain duties to the nation state.. In the constitution of India, fundamental duties of all the citizens have been included which they are expected to perform towards their nations. These are as under.
1. To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National flag and the National Anthem.
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.
3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and Integrity of India
4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.
5. To promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood among all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities, to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
7. To protect and improve the national environment including forests, lakes and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.
8. To develop scientific temper humanism, the spirit of investigation and reform
9. To safeguard public property and abjure violence.
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that our nation constantly rises to higher levels of Endeavour and achievement.
13. Write down the five merits of nationalism.
Ans. Following are the five merits (Arguments in favor of) Nationalism.
1. Maintains National Unity : Nationalism strengthens national unity as under this feeling the people belonging to different castes, speaking different languages, professing different religions etc , learn to live together and whenever any calamity falls on the nation, they join together and face it boldly and unitedly. During the wars of 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1998, the people of India gave the proof of their national unity.
2. Creates Patriotism : Nationalism is the other name of Patriotism. It creates purest form of love among the people for their country and as a result of which they get ready to make all type of sacrifices. By getting motivated by this feelings the people of India had made great sacrifices during the freedom struggle. It also creates self-respect among the people.
3. Cultural Development: Every nations has its separate culture and civilization and the people feel proud of their culture. They make all types of efforts for the development of their culture and civilization and through their literature, dances, musical troops and plays etc they try to spread it among other countries.
4. Enemy of Imperialism: Imperialism was responsible to make other states slave and opposite to it, it was nationalism which gave a death blow to imperialism. Under the influence of nationalism, even the smallest nations are ready to make every sacrifice for the protection of their national liberty. It prefers death of slavery. So, it was nationalism which was responsible for the downfall of imperialism. It was responsible for the independence of so many Asian and African Nations.
5. Supporter of Freedom : Nationalism and freedom are almost synonymous and are complimentary to each other. Where there is nationalism. There is freedom also. First the nationalist feelings take birth among the people and by getting motivated by them, they struggle for independence and ultimately they get it. Nationalism not only helps in the achieving of freedom rather it helps in the maintenance of freedom also. The end of the spirit of nationalism is the death of a Nation.
14. Give ant five demerits (Arguments against) nationalism OR What do you think are the limitations of Nationalism?
Ans. Following are the arguments which are given against Nationalism.
1. Dangerous for world peace: Today nationalism has become a great threat to world peace. The people of every nation consider themselves superior over other nations and they get worked up over petty little incidents which leads to international wars. The minor disputes among states are natural and these incidents should not become the source of international wars.
2. Obstacle in the Way of Internationalism : Many thinkers are of the view that the solution to so many international problems lie in internationalism. But the narrow feelings of nationalism become hindrance in the way of internationalism. According to Prof. Joseph “nationalism id dangerous in principle and constitute a chief obstacle to world progress”
3. Encourage Imperialism : At one side where nationalism has weakened imperialism , on the other it has promoted imperialism also. Nationalism motivates the powerful nation to subjugate the weak nations and to establish their control over them. Under the garb of nationalism, the powerful nation exploit the weak and the poor nation and destroy their culture.
4. Teaches Hatred towards other Nation : Nationalism creates the sense of hatred towards other nations. The powerful nations try to impose their superiority over the weak states. Hitler has created the sense of superiority among Germans. He propagated that Germans were superior and were born to rule. It was the racial superiority of Germany which had pushed the world into Second World War.
5. Setback of Individual Freedom : Nationalism limits the individual freedom of an individual also . he lives for the nation, works for the nation and dies for nation and is ready to sacrifice everything for the nation. Under such conditions an individual remains nothing more than a part of a machine and doesn’t have any individual will or freedom.
Thus we can say that nationalism can write people as well as divide them, liberate them as well generate bitterness and conflict among them.
15. What do understand by Sub-Nationalism?
Ans. There are many states in the world which are multinational. Switzerland and India are such states where people of many nationalities live together. In Switzerland, people belonging to German, French and Italian nations live. In India people speak many languages, speak different languages, have different cultures and traditions but they have been living together for the last so many centuries. Before independence, there was the feeling of sub-nationalism, among the Muslims and the Sikhs. This feeling exists to some extent even today. Sometimes the feeling of sub-nationalism does create hindrance in the way of national integration.
16. Explain Geographical Unity.
Ans. Geographical unity is an important factor as it creates a common bond among the people. Without a common motherland clearly marked out by geographical boundaries, people cannot have a basis for their national feelings. In India, the Himalayas, the great rivers like the Ganges and the beautiful plains have created a very strong nationalistic feelings. Geographical unity creates the feeling of oneness even among those people who have different languages , different religions etc. Before World War I, the Poles and the Yugoslaves were nationalities and not nations. The Jews could not claim full nationhood till they got Isreal after World War II
17. Explain “Common Race”.
Ans. Etymologically, the word ‘Nation’ signifies a people belonging to the same race. It is natural for the people of one race to feel one as they have many common things among themselves. Burges, Lord Bryce and Leacock accept racial unity as the basis of nation.
But it is difficult to find such a condition anywhere in the world at present. No race has remained pure owing to race movement and other factors, races have mixed up. Hayes has rightly sais “ Purity of race , if it exists at all, exists (now a day) only among uncivilized tribes-men”.
Stalin is also of the opinion, “Nationality actually cuts through and cross races. “ Now the people of different races join together to form a nation. Englishmen, Germans, Czechs and Poles joined hands to become a nation in U S A.
18. Explain Common Political Aspirations
Ans. Common Political Aspirations also brings unity among the people. A country may have cultural. Religious, linguistic and other type of unity, but unless the people have common political aims and aspirations nationhood cannot be reached. Sometimes, religious or linguistic bickering are patched up by common political aims and aspirations. Before independence it were the common political aspirations which brought the people of India together.
19. Describe the various hindrances in the way nationalism.
Ans. Following are the hindrances on the way of the development of the feeling of nationalism among the people.
1. Diversity of Interests : The unity of interests unites the people whereas diversity of interests divide them. The people having unity of interest feel move closer to one another nut the people having different interest keep on pursuing their separate interests and they ignore national interests. This weakens national unity.
2. Religious Diversity : Where religious unity creates feeling of oneness among the people at the same time religious diversity destroys national unity. Violence in the name of religion is quite common and it weakens the national unity. In 1947, India on the name of religion had got divided into two parts and even after independence many times communal disturbances have taken place in India. Countries like North Ireland , Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan are also victims of religious disturbances and such incidents weakens the national unity.
3. Regionalism : Under the influence of regionalism, the people living in different parts of the country give more importance to their regional interests and they ignore national interests. Regionalism narrows down the thinking of the people. The basis of the problem of north Eastern States of India, the problem of Qubic in Canada and in so many other states is regionalism , Such feeling weakens national unity and becomes hindrance in the development of the feeling of nationalism.
4. Lingual Diversity : Lingual diversity also stands in the way of development of nationalism. The people speaking different languages consider themselves separate from one another and the position in India is an example of it. The people living in southern India are not prepared to accept Hindi as their national language. The controversies on the basis of language are quite common in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala etc. The people speaking different languages ask for the creation of separate states and all this is a hindrance in the way of nationalism.
5. Economic Disparities : According to Marxists the economic disparities and class divisions are hindrances in the way of nationalism. Wherever there are rich and poor, there will be clash of interests which will give birth to conflicts and where there are conflicts, there will not be cooperation. Besides this, the administration is also under the control of the rich and they make use of power for the betterment of their own interests. The poor do not have any respect for such an administration and they keep planning to change such an administration.
6. Provincialism : The feeling of Provincialism is narrower than the feeling of regionalism which completely narrows down the thinking of the people. Such a feeling creates jealousy towards the people of other provinces. The principles like ‘Sons of the Soil’ are coined which weaken the national unity and stand in the way of the promotion of nationalism.
7. Foreign Influence : Today every state wants to have its control over other states so that it is able to get its interests protected in other state and to achieve this objective the rich and developed states give all sort of help to the poor nations and maintain their influence on them. It is new form of colonialism which is known as Neo- colonialism. It hurts the self respect of the poor states. Besides this, the developed countries try to create disturbances in the under developed states and encourage the people to do anti-nationalism activities. The people under the influence of money get ready to do any such thing. This way they divert the people from the path of nationalism.
8. Wrong Educational System. : Where educational system helps in the growth of nationalism, at the same time wrong educational system stands in the way of the development of nationalism. In case the basis of education is not nationalism, then how can it strengthen nationalism. The purpose of education in India during the British rule was not to inculcate nationalism among the people rather it was to weaken it and to strengthen the roots of the British rule in India. The Britishers, therefore through their education system did not make the people of India aware of their golden past as a result of which the speed of the development of nationalism remained quite slow in India.
9. Partial Press : In these days press plays special role in influencing and giving direction to the views of the people. But it is generally seen that the newspapers do not convey correct information to the people rather by providing wrong information they mislead the people. Besides this , the newspapers are generally aligned to a particular ideology , or to a particular political party etc and this way they represents particular interests not general public interests. As a result of all this , the press does not a play fair role. Only impartial and nationalist press can create nationalist feeling among the people.
10. Feeling of Selfishness: The feeling of selfishness also become a hindrance in the way of the development of nationalism. The selfish people never give preference to national interests, rather he is ready to sacrifice national interests for the sake of his narrow interests. Spies, smugglers and hoarders etc are such people who lack national feeling and they harm national interests for their narrow selfish interests.
They above mentioned d factors are hindrances in the promotion of national feelings (nationalism) among the people.
20.What is the basis of the right of self- determination?
Ans. The principle of the rights of self-determination has become an established principle of international law. It has been recognized by the International Court of Justice. And even the O N O. After the second world war, about ¼ people living in the world were living in lave countries. Thus the need was felt for the establishment of a principle which could help people in getting their freedom. Article I (Section 2 ) of U N Charter provided: “To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self = determination of peoples and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace”. The principle of self-determination implies that colonialism , in all its formed should be destroyed.
No exact definition of the rights of self-determination has been given anywhere but in general terms, it means the right to a sovereign state. Each nation has the right to self government. It is believed that the ideals of liberty and equality could never be realized until all nations were free. Thus the ideal of nation state is universally accepted. Besides, world peace also depends on the recognition of this principle. When a nation is not independent it will make all efforts to achieve its independence. It may destroy world peace.
On the other hand, the right of self-determination can cause many problems . In the present day world, no state is culturally or ethnically homogeneous. All states contain some kind of mix of culture, race, religion etc. IN USA, Canada, Switzerland, people belonging to many nationalities are living together peacefully and the principle of self-determination, if put into practice, it could break these states into many small parts. Again, it is very difficult to say whether any given nationality deserves statehood at a particular time. Before a nationality can become independent and sovereign, it must fulfill certain conditions. For example, it must be able to defend itself against any foreign aggression . Moreover it should be financially viable to sustain itself without needing much financial support from other countries. It should also be able maintain law and order in the territory occupied by it.
In the conclusion , it can be said that in practice , the idea of one nation, one state is not fully realizable. However it is necessary that each national group (minorities) should be granted certain rights. The rights to conserve its own religion, language, culture and customs etc. They should also have the right to maintain their educational and religious institutions. 4
