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Nationalism is good, jingoism is bad - don’t conflate the two

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Minhaz Merchant
Minhaz MerchantMay 23, 2017 | 17:48

Nationalism is good, jingoism is bad - don’t conflate the two

A steely-eyed, bearded TV anchor growled the other night: nationalism is bad. It’s jingoism. Jingoism is bad.

He’s right and wrong. Right: jingoism is bad. Wrong: nationalism is not jingoism.

It’s a common error journalists of a certain stripe make: conflating nationalism with hyper-nationalism/ultra-nationalism/jingoism.

Some do it deliberately to advance a political agenda though they know their definitions are mixed up. Some do it because they simply don’t know better.

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When former Test cricketer Mohammad Kaif tweeted his congratulations to India after its legal stand on Kulbhushan Jadhav was endorsed by the International Court of Justice’s interim verdict, trolls from Pakistan (and a few from India) descended upon him.

Most questioned his religious identity. How could a man with a name like Mohammad support India over Pakistan?

Kaif, who played a stellar role in India’s famous ODI victory over England at Lord’s in 2002 (the one where skipper Sourav Ganguly ripped his shirt off), gave it back to his trolls. He tweeted that he was proud to be Indian and that “India is by far the most inclusive and tolerant country”.

Hidden in plain sight in Kaif’s riposte is the real definition of nationalism. No, it’s not jingoism, ultra-nationalism or hyper-nationalism, the various labels steely-eyed, growling TV anchors fabricate to deceive viewers. 

In plain English: nationalism is good. Jingoism is bad. Don’t conflate the two.

Kaif is a nationalist because he puts India above religious identity. India to him, a devout Muslim, is inclusive and tolerant. 

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So what is jingoism/ultra-nationalism/hyper-nationalism? How is it different from nationalism?

Jingoism is not about putting India first, it’s about putting others last. In contrast, nationalism celebrates unity and diversity but also stands up for the national interest. That’s what Kaif was doing.

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Mohammad Kaif: Man of the match. Photo: Reuters

Nationalism isn’t even just about patriotism. It goes beyond that. It’s about doing the right thing - always.

Vigilantism isn’t nationalism. It crosses the red line. Those who cross it damage their cause.

The glowering illiberal-Left delights in such a transgression. It dovetails with its fraudulent narrative that vigilantism and violence have spiked after May 2014.

But of course the most horrific violence - communal, caste and gender - took place between 1947 and 2014.

Law and order

Major Nitin Gogoi’s decision to use a street protester as a human shield tied to an Army jeep when faced with a 1,000-strong mob of stone-pelters in Kashmir had nothing to do with nationalism or jingoism.

It had to do with law and order. The Army has a protocol to deal with violent mobs. First, disperse with non-lethal means (tear gas, water cannons). As a last resort, shoot.

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Major Gogoi had the authority to make a split-second decision based on the threat perception to his convoy.

The Army, after a thorough review of Major Gogoi’s record of counter-insurgency operations over the years, awarded him the Army Chief’s commendation medal. The review included his action to save his convoy from a violent mob.

Whatever the merits of Major Gogoi’s action, it had to do with Army protocol in a lethal life-and-death situation - not jingoism. Again, don’t conflate the two.

What India’s illiberal, Left-leaning media does is mimic the Pakistani version of nationalism, which is not nationalism at all but, yes, jingoism. You could call it by its two synonyms: hyper-nationalism and ultra-nationalism.

By deciding to defy the International Court of Justice verdict, filing an application for a review of the judgment, not allowing consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, not confirming his state of health or location, Pakistan is behaving like the country it is: a terrorist state driven by the demons that reside in jingoists.

India should expect no better from Pakistan given its decades-long record of terror attacks on Indian soil. But India’s illiberal, Left-leaning subversive media gives Pakistan the benefit of doubt because it regards Pakistan’s jingoism as nationalism and India’s nationalism as jingoism. 

That is the perverse narrative every responsible, liberal, secular journalist must challenge and change.

If Pakistan defies the ICJ and executes Jadhav, the matter will go to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC could impose economic and military sanctions on Pakistan. China, which has no notion of right and wrong and runs a dictatorship, will veto the sanctions.

But it can’t veto the international disgrace that will attach itself to Pakistan.

Islamabad may not care. It is used to international disgrace. But given the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, it needs global cooperation from countries other than China. That may dry up if the UNSC sanctions it.

China too will face opprobrium if it casts its veto. Again it may not care. As a serial offender, it has treated the verdict against it by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in its dispute with the Philippines with contempt.

China blocks Facebook, Google, Twitter and other social media. Its citizens can’t vote. Its economy faces a debt trap which few, apart from Morgan Stanley’s Ruchir Sharma, have analysed in detail.

Define it right

If we are to define nationalism and jingoism accurately, Mohammad Kaif reinforces the principle of nationalism: inclusive, liberal, tolerant and protective of national interest.

Pakistan and China in contrast reflect jingoism: militaristic, intolerant, illiberal and expansionist. They encroach on others’ national interest.

As the Jadhav case unfolds, both nationalism and jingoism will be on display. Kaif’s brave and timely intervention should be widely applauded.

Those who have maintained a tactical silence on Kulbhushan Jadhav so far - ranging from Shah Rukh Khan to Sachin Tendulkar - should use their wide follower base to speak up as well.

It is time to expose the deception of those who conflate nationalism with jingoism and bury that particular post-truth for good.

Last updated: May 24, 2017 | 15:10
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