I AND MY WORDS

The Flag of India as Adopted in 1906 Congress Session Being the proponent of the theory that gave direction to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, it is often forgotten that nationalism remains a key pillar to the theory of integral humanism. However, the problem with the usage of the term nationalism emanates in modern academia from the manner in which the word itself gets defined. Having its roots in the European nation-state creative processes, the concept of a religion, a language or an ethnicity is the key driver for the understanding of nationalism in the Euro-centric theorization. This is a rather parochial understanding from the Eastern perspectives of the conceptualization of a nation state. Unlike the Western model of nationalism, there is a rootedness in the approaches of the eastern civilizations in general that make the idea distinct. Cultural identity is the actual marker of this civilizational approach, and the individual as part of society rather than an individual or a society...

A Swadeshi Poster (Courtesy: Republic of Less ) Swadeshi is a thought, an ideal that arose across several countries and not just India. However, the roots in India arose from the 1905 movement whereby the extremist division of the Congress, led by the famous Lal-Bal-Pal trio (Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal) pushed for an aggressive movement towards home rule, furthered in 1916 by the Home Rule and later in the form of Gandhi’s spiritual form of disobedience. Across the three was a common thread running - creating an economic alternative to demonstrate that India was, just like many other Commonwealth nations or even the crown state of Britain, more than capable of being self-reliant, be it machinery, trade, textile, education or any other aspect. The act was not just political, but was driven by the sentiments related to Bharat Mata that was already whipping up – this was around the same time that the fiery intellectual revolutionary Aurobindo Ghosh through ...