Differentiation, Integration and Exclusion: Dynamics and Challenges to Nation-Building

Ethnicity, nation, nationalism and the nation-state have been politically volatile concepts marked by ambiguities and predominantly Eurocentric bias. These have impacted the formation of states and the dynamics within them. Is the nation-state the exclusive domain of ethno-nations forming a territorial state by exercising the right of self-determination? The emancipation of post-colonial states added a new dimension to the on-going discourse; among these, the contribution of the Indian subcontinent is prominent. Their leaders who were in the forefront of the freedom struggle were not only familiar with this discourse, but actually played out their politics on the basis of either subscribing to, or, in outright rejection of, the Eurocentric model. The latter, argued for, and established, a civic-secular nation-state that admitted ethnic plurality and class realities of equality, within an overarching civilisational bonding. This article examines how this dynamic played itself out in the laboratory of South Asia, particularly, with reference to the formations of India and Pakistan. Their top leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Quad-e-Azam Jinnah held opposing views on the concept of the nation and nation-state. I have argued that the Indian nation-state has steadily evolved through a continuous zig-zag process of differentiation and integration. In recent times, a new contradiction has surfaced out of believers in ethno-nation, introducing a volatile churning in the political process.