Nationalism.

In the current election of 2019, the term Nationalism is highly circulated in all sorts of media and other forums of public discourses. With the interest to get myself enlightened, I want to share my views with you. Eagerly looking forward to your response. 

State is an instrument in the hands of a nation. One is a whole other is a part of it. State belongs to a nation, or a nation owns a state. It can be better understood by citing an example. Under the British rule, Indian state belonged to British rule, we lived in the British state and India was our nation. Any state takes care of its nation, British rule also served for England and not for India. That is why we demanded swaraj i.e. self-rule (our state). State is also defined in article 12 of the Indian Constitution; Union government, Union Parliament, State Legislatures and State governments, Local bodies and other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of Indian government. When Preamble reads, "To Constitute India into Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic ", here the term India is used as a State and not as a nation. 

Sometimes, nation and country (desh) are used as synonyms but they are not the same and the difference is very subtle and abstract. Likewise, there is a subtle difference between a patriot (deshbhakt) and a nationalist (rashtravadi). There was a question in IAS mains related to Rabindra Nath Tagore that he was a patriot and not a nationalist. Generally, the term country is used for rural areas and sometimes underline cultural values and folk traditions. Generally, country denotes natural surrounding. Nation is generally used in a western sense where it means a particular geographical area with political commitment and identity. Country is a natural surrounding where we are born and cannot live without.

Thus, the term patriotism encompasses humanistic values and universal approach. Thus, patriot is one who is ready to live with or die for his natural surroundings, including people irrespective of the nation the natural surrounding situated in. This tendency of a patriot makes patriotism a universal value. To sum up, State is a man created system within or outside nation, country is a natural environment with human population and nation is a feeling of belongingness with that state and country.

 Now to the next part of the question i.e. the difference between Western and Indian Nationalism. Western nationalism is a geopolitical expression while the Indian nationalism is a geo-cultural expression. Western nations were created as a consequence of the formation of states. Western nationalism does not discriminate between nation and state. A sovereign state declares itself a nation. Thus, the genesis of Western nationalism is sovereign politics.

Indian nationalism is more a cultural expression than a political one. In Vedic literature, Rashtra(nation) is used for people, not for land. Here, nation is an eternal and living entity. Formation of nation is a cosmic and natural phenomenon than political business.

As a man is not merely an assembly of organs likewise nation is not an assembly of people and land. The soul comes first, generates organs and creates human entity, not vice versa. Likewise, nation comes first and everything rest that belongs to nation created by the cosmic energy of nation called Chiti (soul of nation).

To sum up, western nationalism is an artificial and political business and  Indian nationalism is cultural and natural phenomenon.