OpEdNews - Page 2 of Article: Communalism Is Superior to Nationalism

In the dimension of rebellion, two dozen insurgent groups are active in the Madhes region of Nepal and battle against the state. Madhesi people and Madhesi politicians directly and indirectly support almost all Madhes centric insurgents. However, the degree of support, types and size are different and depend on individuals. Majorities of Madhesi political fellows have good relations and coordinate with almost all Madhesi insurgents, while no Madhesi politicians formally oppose the Madhesi insurgency. The insurgents express gratitude, "We are surviving just because of the valuable and direct contribution of Madhesi ethnic people." This implies that Madhesis politicians are also somehow in support of the insurgency.

The Indian people living in the bordering area of Nepal also openly help them. They claim, "We have blood relations with Madhesis people; they are our relatives, they are our castes, and they are our brothers and family members, so we should support Madhesis in all possible courses of action that they need to achieve their rights." Again, the reason behind such feeling is found because of the natural influences of communalism. They do not care about the Indian Government's official policy and views towards Madhes unrest. They directly reject any kind of governmental actions and imposed directives that subvert Madhes issues. They support the Madhes insurgency spontaneously and without any confusion. Therefore, both the Indian as well as the Nepali Government should heed this nascent support, and seek to resolve the conflict before the issues escalate by involving both nations simultaneously.

Nationalism vs. Communalism

The traditional philosophy of nationalism seems no longer valid nor significant as a trusted platform of integrity and sovereignty. The definition of nationalism should be modified as per contemporary perspectives of people's interests, trends and nature. Nationalism should be denoted with diversities of communalism rather than a hard-line definition, which seems based and valid only in some extent of homogeneous society's structure. However, radicalism in communalism can be harmful to a nation, therefore, governments should play a vital role in balancing the interests of a pluralist society. If not, communalism can be turned into ethnic conflict.

To manage and minimize the negative influence of radical communalism, governments should introduce effective nation building polices, balance power sharing among all ethnic and social groups, develop a proportional inclusion structure in all possible state organs, and designed community-based integrated development packages. Specifically, racial and ethnic discrimination should be abolished through effective policies. The superiority or dominance of particular castes, or groups, families, or culture, should be eliminated. Social justice can be materialized through adopting several approaches for equity and equality by using various tools such as positive discrimination for marginalized groups, scientific localized structure of federalism, community participation, induction of a balanced redistribution system, and democratization of the nation through political, administrative, economic and diplomatic channels. One of the most important ways to effect social justice is to use official efforts for converting the mindset of respective individuals and communities so that citizens feel ownership towards the nation where he or she holds legal nationality. But nations should recognize that people will always identify more closely with their own regional culture, like the Turkish ethnic German people who are legally German but who never accepted themselves as German. They will always reject German nationalism over communal affinities.

Communalism is superior to nationalism. Communalism is a more deeply held value than nationalism. The higher degree or intensive influences of radical communalism is dangerous to sustainable peace and security. Radical communalism can directly affect social harmony in pluralistic society. But, communalism can be managed through proper handling. Governments can take advantage of the positive aspects of communalism during the course of community development programs, institution building, infrastructure development, preservation of heritage, culture and social phenomena, etc. The broader influence of communalism defeats the contentedness of nationalism. Therefore, the superiority of nationalism is no longer valid in contemporary society. Hence, communalism is superior to nationalism.

Further scholarly and political debate is welcomed.

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