Book Review: The Colours Of Nationalism

 [The book review was first published in YouthKiAwaaz]

The dedication page of Nandita Haksar’s memoir, ‘The Colours of Nationalism’, reads “I humbly dedicate this book to all those who are still fighting to make India a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic committed to Justice, Equality and Liberty for the people.” The dedication is fitting, because the book traces the growth of India from a country that was striving to build itself on the ideals enshrined in the constitution, the challenges faced along the way, to a point where the very existence of those ideals are being questioned.

The book is divided into several chapters (each named after colours)- what does patriotism mean, the history of communism, the rise of Hindutva nationalism, the many challenges faced by the feminist movement, the fight against human rights violations, the many challenges faced in the North East- each of which follows a similar trajectory. Each chapter starts with an incident/s which made the author aware of the issue and a brief historical background. The bulk of the chapter describes how the issue played out over the next few years, told mainly through stories which the author herself was involved with. The chapters end with the current situation, which in every case is extremely grim.

Nandita Haksar embodies privilege. She is upper caste and upper class. She comes from a well educated family, and her family members held important positions in government- her father, particularly, was extremely well connected. She was born in London, speaks English and has studied in the best institutions. While she could have easily led a life of relative riches, she chose to work in the world of the disenfranchised. Her career choices- journalist, activist, human rights lawyer- were all made with the intention of exposing systemic inequity and seeking social justice for the disenfranchised. She seemed quite comfortable forming genuine friendships with people from a very different background from her own, and she respected their right to make their own choices. It is this empathy, clarity and honesty that comes through very strongly throughout the book.

Nandita was born at a time when the nation was in the process of building itself on the ideals enshrined in the Constitution, she lived and worked through the decades where those ideals were constantly challenged to a point where they are today under threat. The book traces the journey of a young woman born into a family that embodied the values on which the nation was formed, to one who encounters and fights the many inequities that continue to flourish, and who continues to raise her voice as the nation moves away from those ideals. Her’s is a quest which takes her on a journey to rejecting Hindutva politics, to understanding the various communist movements, to embrace identity politics, to struggle to fit feminism into the mainstream narrative, before returning to the vision of an India which embraces its diversity and is true to the ideals of the Constitution.

While the book is a memoir and largely restricts itself to what the author herself experienced, its importance goes beyond the personal. It is important because it serves as a witness to issues which have now been largely forgotten. At a time when history is being rewritten, and the past is being recast through the lens of the person defining the narrative, it is important to know the various forces that were in play while the nation was being built, and of how a lot of what we see today is a result of the differences that were not adequately addressed in the past. It is always a good time to read a book like this one, but now is a particularly good time to do so.

The part of the book that I found particularly fascinating was the chapter “Living in a Rainbow Chaos”, which dealt with the North East. Most of us have a very sketchy idea of the North East, and even the better read among us will struggle to do more than locate each of the states on the map and name their capitals. Nandita gives us a brief history of the region, speaks of how they were incorporated into the Indian Union, and of the challenges of ensuring they remain a part of the Union. She doesn’t shy away from describing the role of the Indian Army, and of how the people live in fear of the soldiers. Her musings on “unity in diversity” is important in the context of the North East- which is more important- the idea of nationalism or identity politics. This is a question that keeps popping up throughout the book, and while the author knows what she believes, she doesn’t force her opinion on the reader.

While we may not all agree with the authors social, economic or political beliefs, I think this is a book we should read to understand the challenges that the nation had to face because the ideals of the Constitution were not always in synch with ground reality. In hindsight we realise that the nation may not have always made the right choices, but it is important to understand the compulsions that led to the choice being made. History is always nuanced, and “The Colours of Nationalism” attempts to use her personal experiences to describe some of that nuance.

I end with the last paragraph of the book-

“In 2018, Oxfam brought out a report where they calculated that it would take 941 years for a minimum wage worker in rural India to earn what the top paid executive at a leading Indian garment company earned in a year. The Preamble to our Constitution had promised to build India into a “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.” We seemed to be going in the opposite direction, towards a capitalist, non secular, authoritarian republic for the rick upper-castes. The promise of the Tiranga had been betrayed, I felt.

This book is published by Speaking Tiger. I received a review copy. The opinions are my own.