The relevance of the Constitution in times of turmoil: JNU vs State
The recent JNU vs State debate over nationalism and freedom of expression was the one that caught the nation’s attention. It was during this time, that I was facing this conundrum within trying to grapple with opposing views on the issue. Shashi Tharoor, MP in his speech at the Azad Square, JNU campus stated and I paraphrase that the underlying issue for this juxtaposition is the concept/idea of the nation and Indian Nationalism. It is therefore very clear that these events speak about the complexity of the the concepts of Indian nationalism and freedom of expression which were seen to be loggerheads and deciphering the same shall be critical to our understanding of these concepts. Pic Credits: NDTV, India The emergence of the exclusionary dominant Hindu narrative of nationalism with the BJP, the political wing of the RSS coming into power further sidelining the marginalized was an added blow. This majoritarian construct of Cultural nationalism considers the nation state t...