Nationalism, its malcontents

Sir — The nationalist narrative has gained so much acceptance over the decades that the Opposition parties, barring a few like the Trinamool Congress, do not deem it necessary to take a humanitarian approach to the citizenship issue. The clash between nationalism and humanism is stark. Imagine the state of the people who will be rendered stateless? It is not enough to be Indians; it has become necessary to be ‘genuine Indians’ now, to borrow a phrase from the Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju. The NRC exercise should not dent India’s image as a land of disparate races and religions co-existing peacefully for millennia.