Identity of the Indian Subcontinent

Identity of the Indian Subcontinent

72 years since Independence! India has come a long way shedding its colonial past and is
busy making a place for itself in the world. From a rich ancient history through painful
phases of invasions and rule, India has come a long way absorbing everything that has come
along its way. The land and its people are still seen having an air of mysticism and through
the lens of poverty, in spite of the strides taken in the areas of Agriculture, Infrastructure,
Education and Health care. The results which can be seen as a reflection in the youngest
generations of the Nation – those who have been touched more by the idea of
multi nationalism and Globalization than the idea of a Nation as such. Yet, the debate
remains. What does it mean to be an Indian? What has changed? What hasn’t?

The Individual

Then
At an Individual level, an average pre-independence Indian had a limited idea of
individualism. It was always collectives at play and identity was attributed to caste,
religion, class, etc. The thought of identity and its branding was either related with the ideal
– be it a supreme being or a supreme leader (whose actions and inaction found profound
meaning through literature old and new) or disregarded entirely. For the average
uneducated Indian, name, relationship and vocation deemed synonymous with identity. It
was a time when Indian National Movement presented a new identity for that generation.
Of belonging to a Nation-State.

Now
Though the imprints of pre-independence still exist, the millennial Indian takes individual
identity much more seriously. Especially the one stored in the clouds in bytes. Likes and
dislikes, orientation, opinions and voice of the individual have reached utmost importance
due to a variety of socio-economic changes. This is now an age of Thumbprint and face
detection that categorizes a person in many of the many data sets by which an Individual is
known. In a time where metaphysics gets condensed into memes for entertainment, the
distant allure of citizenry and its associated pride is another trend.

The Family

Then
A family served as a unit of permanence where resources of an individual along with
interest and ideology flowed from. A person mirrored if at all trying to reflect the slow yet
significant material changes of the nation. Nevertheless, the nature of the family, the
residence, locality and its members decided where and what one was to do with one’s life.
What one came out to be in life was dictated by the family experience. Handed down
products, re purposed objects were the norm. Low Infant mortality rates coupled with a low
average life expectancy resulted in large families and larger communities. While thoroughly
functional, the Indian family system had resulted in Patriarchy that limited decision making
ability for women.

Now
This concept has shattered for the modern Indian who is theoretically free to choose life as
she/he pleases. Though deep familial roots hold onto the ever ambitious yet clueless Indian,
there has been some loosening in the form of increased migration and higher participation of
women in the workforce. The roots are clanged onto by the new generation as well. The
clutter and manual labour of an Indian household has paved way to machines and maids.
Decision making and economic power has finally started reaching women. Family size has
trimmed down and the role of the undivided family has extended well beyond looking after
bare necessities into recreation and entertainment.

The Community

Then
The village was by default considered as the unit of politics and governance before
Independence. The issue as we would finally come to understand, that these systems came
with their own rules soaked in centuries of tradition involving disregard for equal human
rights. Caste-ism was still an issue as livelihood beyond the community was often risky.
Cities were those glorified places of trade and eminence unimaginable to survive in, without
the comfortable cloak of the immediate community.

Now
The community has become a complex place as migration serving as the middle name for
surviving the networked India. What was once the community of living has now become
several – The Home community - the community of upbringing, and The Destination
community - one that allows sustenance. For thousands of labourers and workers, escaping
economic realities meant leaving behind the latter. This situation is the new normal going
forward as the Indian economy keeps shifting towards the manufacturing and services
sector. On the digital side however, the community extends all over the world. Tendencies
of the community has extended broad and wide while mischief prevails in the name of caste
and religion.

The Country

Then
Perhaps the most confusing association of all, Indians before and after the dawn of the 20th
century were obsessed with it. India being a Union of States, defined a broad description of
what it means as a Nation.
For example, the geography –
Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha
Dravida Utkala Banga
Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga
Ucchala Jaladhi Taranga
Even when nearly all of the population had not understood the complexity or the sheer scale
of the Nation state, people stood united for the idea. Realization was limited, the battle was
common however. Sentiment about the nation was high.
Below is an excerpt from “India after Gandhi” by Ramachandra Guha that summarizes how
India, the country was viewed
“The most eloquent tribute to the idea of India that I have come across rests in some
unpublished letters of the biologist J. B. S. Haldane. In his native Britain, Haldane was a
figure of considerable fame and some notoriety. In 1956, already past sixty, he decided to
leave his post in University College London and take up residence in Calcutta. He joined the
Indian Statistical Institute, became an Indian citizen, wore Indian clothes and ate Indian
food. He also travelled energetically around the country, engaging with its scientists but also
with the citizenry at large. Five years after Haldane had moved to India, an American
science writer described him in print as a ‘citizen of the world’. Haldane replied:
No doubt I am in some sense a citizen of the world. But I believe with Thomas Jefferson that one
of the chief duties of a citizen is to be a nuisance to the government of his state. As there is no
world state, I cannot do this . . . On the other hand, I can be, and am, a nuisance to the government
of India, which has the merit of permitting a good deal of criticism, though it reacts to it rather
slowly. I also happen to be proud of being a citizen of India, which is a lot more diverse than
Europe, let alone the USA, USSR, or China, and thus a better model for a possible world
organisation. It may of course break up, but it is a wonderful experiment. So, I want to be labelled
as a citizen of India.”

Now
The onset of the information age has presented the average Indian citizen, news and
information across the length and breadth of the country. What our erstwhile political
leaders had tasted by traveling the span of India is now available in seconds. Irony prevails
that this cultural and regional integration has not resulted in a special sense of union. In fact,
it has resulted in the consciousness of regionalism – of highlighted differences. Questions
such as what it means to be a nationalist, what it means to be a citizen are being debated and
explored.
In this grand setting called India, pains in the democratic process are nothing to be surprised
of. True democracy is achieved when every individual is able to exercise his/her voice. The
Identity of the nation has distilled to the members of the Union – however their voices, if at
all are getting heard, are not being acknowledged and acted upon. The Sovereign state is
after all, only 72 years old – much younger in comparison to the founders of the democratic
Nation-state. The largest democracy in the world will hopefully lead the world in the quest
for individuality in this ever-expanding multicultural world.

-Arjun Aathish

MBA Batch -18