Existential reality of modern india is a plural society: Hamid Ansari
NEW DELHI: Amid ongoing debate on ethno-nationalism in an election season, Vice-president Hamid Ansari on Tuesday evening rued that a segment of opinion in India espoused Indian version of 'cultural nationalism' premised on 'religious majoritarianism'.
Delivering fifth K Subrahmanyam Memorial Lecture here on a topic titled "Some thoughts on Domestic Dimensions of Security", Ansari dealt in details with internal security challenges before India, including Left wing extremism, terrorism, insurgencies besides challenges to cultural identity of a pluralist society like India.
"The existential reality of modern India is a plural society of immense diversity devoted to the realisation of the objectives and ideals in the Preamble of the Constitution. It is premised on the individual as the basic unit of citizenship in terms of equality with every other citizen," Ansari pointed out.
"It therefore aspires towards a form of citizenship that is marked neither by universalism generated by complete homoenisation, nor by particularism generated by complete homogenisation, nor by particularism of self-identical and closed communities," he said.
"The operative principle for this is national-civic rather than 'national-ethnic' though a segment of opinion today would want to modulate or amend it and espouse instead an Indian version of 'cultural nationalism' premised on 'religious majoritarianism'," he said without mincing any words.
These remarks hold significance amid highly charged election season.
Delivering fifth K Subrahmanyam Memorial Lecture here on a topic titled "Some thoughts on Domestic Dimensions of Security", Ansari dealt in details with internal security challenges before India, including Left wing extremism, terrorism, insurgencies besides challenges to cultural identity of a pluralist society like India.
"The existential reality of modern India is a plural society of immense diversity devoted to the realisation of the objectives and ideals in the Preamble of the Constitution. It is premised on the individual as the basic unit of citizenship in terms of equality with every other citizen," Ansari pointed out.
"It therefore aspires towards a form of citizenship that is marked neither by universalism generated by complete homoenisation, nor by particularism generated by complete homogenisation, nor by particularism of self-identical and closed communities," he said.
"The operative principle for this is national-civic rather than 'national-ethnic' though a segment of opinion today would want to modulate or amend it and espouse instead an Indian version of 'cultural nationalism' premised on 'religious majoritarianism'," he said without mincing any words.
These remarks hold significance amid highly charged election season.
