Whether India is a nation?

When someone says India has a National language, we could see people opposing it saying India neither has a National language nor an official language. Let these debates be apart. A 'NATION' has a national language, if and only if it is a 'NATION'. This might sound crazy and you need not read it again.


Firstly, we have to take up a serious question on to our debate. Whether India is a nation? Looking deeply into this context, one would land in a conclusion that 'No, India is not a nation'. Let me just elaborate. The word 'Nation' is defined as 'a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory' by recognised dictionaries of the world. It is to be noted that, the definitions says, 'common' descent, history, culture or language. So, the word 'common' plays a vital role in the definition of a nation.

Image Coutesy: BenagluruMemes.com

It is a well known fact that, India has nothing in common, (even the love towards cricket has been denominated by IPL). We have been put under since 1947 into a phrase 'Unity in Diversity'. So how how a diverse land could be a nation.

Secondly, what does our Constitution says? The first line of the Indian Constitution defines, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a 'Union' of states". The word to be noted from this line is, 'Union'. So, our own constitution declares India to be a Union but not a nation.

So, without a common nationalism, how could a country be called a nation, and ultimately how could it have a national language?

- Santhosh Mathevan

Trichy, January 11, 2016