Arguably Contentious: The search for a principled nationalism in India

In an era where nationalism dominantes Indian politics, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari's book offers a conceptual framework for it and for India's foreign policy

Arguably Contentious: Thoughts on a Divided World

by M Hamid Ansari

Published by Rupa

192+xxiii pages  ₹595

  Reading this collection of Hamid Ansari’s recent articles, speeches, and lectures — now carefully revised and sequenced into chapters — I found myself asking: “What is new in this book?” This is not a pessimistic apprehension. We know Hamid Ansari as one of the most prolific, creative, and astute public figures in contemporary India. Mr Ansari inherits the intellectual legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia, S Radha Krishnan, Maulana Azad, J P Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and many others — that is, leaders who reflected on the issues, debates and concerns of public life. After a decade of service as India’s Vice-President, Mr Ansari transitioned into the role of a prolific public commentator. The chapters in this book reflect his deep engagement with the national discourse. It is, therefore, natural for Mr Ansari’s readers (like me!) to search for a sense of argumentative novelty in this carefully compiled volume.

 

A thorough reading of the book offers us three key arguments. The first argument is about the significance of constitutionalism. Mr Ansari does not want us to worship the Constitution as any kind of “holy book”. Instead, he envisages the Constitution as a founding legal-philosophical document that signifies a just and legitimate contract between the state and citizens. He emphasises the fact that the Preamble of the Constitution highlights the philosophical foundations that determine the rights of the citizens, governing rules and norms of the polity, and the expectations from the government to provide a level playing field for all communities and social groups. Mr Ansari systematically evokes the idea of fraternity  to assert an inherent sense of solidarity among individuals and communities.

 

This conceptualisation is valuable, especially when nationalism has become the dominant narrative of Indian politics. Mr Ansari does not subscribe to the view that nationalism in the Indian context may be seen merely as an imitation of the West. He proposes a culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate conceptualisation of Indian nationalism. In this framework, the nation is envisioned through the lens of constitutional ideals: Secularism, individual freedom, the protection of minority cultural rights, social justice, and democratic federalism. It does not mean that Mr Ansari merely offers us an abstract theory of constitutional nationalism. A set of chapters tries to examine the actual functioning of public institutions to uncover the asymmetry between ideals and practices.

 

This comparative mode of analysis is the second main argument of this book. Mr Ansari encourages an evaluation of political practice against constitutional ideals, aiming to uncover potential avenues for constructive intervention. This is one of the most insightful contributions of this book. Mr Ansari recognises that the political world is discursively constituted; it is a disordered and messy realm driven by self-interest and the lust for power. This messiness, he seems to suggest, ought to be evaluated to find out the problem areas. In this schema, constitutional ideals are introduced as a way of life—an intentionally undefined ideological apparatus used to find out what has gone wrong and to what extent. This contrast does not merely establish a new meaning of praxis in the Indian context; it also transforms the Constitution into a living and ever-evolving political text.

 

This brings us to the third argument. Mr Ansari, we should not forget, is a retired diplomat. He has written extensively on India’s foreign policy as an expert, having represented the country in various international forums. Given his diplomatic background, it is fitting that he dedicates the second part of the volume to explore India’s foreign policy within a rapidly evolving global landscape. Mr Ansari does not subscribe to the usual foreign policy analysis, where political moves in the realm of international relations are always interpreted and justified in relation to what is called the “national interest”. He reiterates the principles that has always been the guiding force of India’s foreign affairs. In his opinion, adherence to pluralism, commitment for secularism and support for a peaceful world order are the principles that could be evoked to design a morally just and politically favourable policy framework. Reflecting on the future directions of Indian foreign policy, Mr Ansari, underlines five key areas — national security with regional boundaries and water disputes, regional cooperation, pandemics, environmental degradation, and climate change.  This realistic  proposal does not underestimate the conventional understanding of the national interest. Yet, it strongly asserts the significance of moral values and humane ideals in defining the goals of foreign policy and diplomacy. In other words, foreign policy is reimagined from the perspective of constitutionalism.

 

These three arguments —constitutional nationalism, a constructive assessment of the Indian polity, and a principled foreign policy — may be used to outline a possible theory of Indian politics. Mr Ansari wants us to move in this direction; and this reinforces the novelty of the book.    

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The reviewer is professor, CSDS. The views are personal