Book Review

 

Ethnicity and Nation-building in South Asia- Urmila Phadnis & Rajat Ganguly.

 

Synopsis: The book was first published in 1989, this widely hailed core text of the dynamics of ethnic identities and movements in the South Asian region is perhaps even more relevant today, as the region faces a resurgence of ethno-nationalist sentiments and the outbreak of new ethnic conflict.

We are going to discuss about the Ethnicity and Nation-building: Approaches and Issues, Ethnic Groups in South Asia: An Overview, South Asian States Systems: Diverse Patterns, Similar Tendencies Central Leadership, and Ethnicity: Perspectives, Policies and Strategies, Ethnic Movements: Dynamics of Demand-Divergence Ethnic Dynamics of Autonomist and Secessionist Demands Ethnic Separatism: External Dimensions, Implication and Conclusion.

'This is probably the only work that deals with the entire spectrum of South Asian ethnicity and its dynamic role in regional politics. A decade and a half later after the first edition were published, the work has become even more relevant because ethnic divisions have become sharper all across the region. This updated second edition is thus welcome by Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Contemporary South Asia.

 

Key Words: Ethnicity, Ethnic groups, Leadership, One party dominance model, Panchayat system, Asian states, and policies & Strategies.     

 

Objective: Major features of this thoroughly revised edition are

1.   It provides a critical appraisal of various theoretical approaches to the study of ethnicity and nation-building

2.   Delineates the ethnic composition of the South Asian

3.   Region- examines the specific state structures of the countries studied: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

4.   Discusses various ethnic movements in these countries - covers the most recent developments in the region.

 

About the Author:

Urmila Phadnis: She was born on 1931 and died at the age 90. She was an International Affairs Professor in JNU. She wrote many books such as Religion and politics in Sri Lanka, Ethnicity and Nation-building in South Asia, Domestic Conflicts in South Asia: Economic and ethnic dimension, Towards the integration of Indian states- 1919 to 1947, and Maldives, wind of change in an atoll state. 

She along with her graduate students worked on the, study political system in South Asia in 1970s. During the course, on the theme of challenges to national integration in South Asia, they put forward daunting questions which made her feel time and again that she needed to reflect more closely on the ramifications of this subject. In 1979, the award of a Senior Fellowship by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) provided her with the opportunity to pursue the study of ethnicity and nation building in South Asia.

Dr Rajat Ganguly: Is based in the School of Management and Governance at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. A specialist in international relations, conflict and security studies and Asian politics and international affairs, he has published widely in the areas of ethnic conflict, insurgency movements and Asian politics and security. His published books and monographs are: Autonomy and Ethnic Conflict in South and South-East Asia (Routledge 2012); Understanding Ethnic Conflict (Longman 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010); Ethnic Conflict (Sage 2009); Ethnic Conflict and Secessionism in South and Southeast Asia (Sage 2003); Ethnicity and Nation-Building in South Asia (Sage 2001); and Kin State Intervention in Ethnic Conflicts (Sage 1998).

 

About the Book

The book, Ethnicity and Nation- building in South Asia by Urmila Phadnis has totally seven chapters, preface to the first edition, Introduction, Endnotes, and Index keyword.  

Each chapter has an Introduction part, five sub topic and a conclusion. 

 

Chapter 1: Ethnicity and Nation-building: Approaches and Issues.

The chapter focused much about, the how the ethnic nationalism has been manifested in different form in developed countries like America and Europe. Many of these countries has witnessed the rise of anti-immigrants and right nationalist sentiments in recent years which in turn have provoked minority immigrant communities to politically mobilise themselves in order to protect and promote their political, economic and socio-cultural rights. 

Ethnicity and ethnic identity have therefore been crucial variables in the formation, re-formation and consolidation of state structure in south Asia. The partition of colonial India into two states of India and Pakistan had its apparent legitimation in the ethnic distinctiveness of the two nations furthermore, the emergence of Bangladesh in 1917 based on the separate ethnic identity with a Muslim Pakistan signified a rare case of successful ethno secessionist movement during the cold war period.  Ethnic groups can be divided into homelands societies and diaspora communities.

 

Chapter 2: Ethnic Groups in South Asia: An Overview

The majority of the population fall within three large linguistic groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Iranic. The Indian, Nepalese and Sri Lankan societies are traditionally divided into castes or clans, which are based primarily on labour divisions; these categories have had no official status in India since independence in 1947, except for the scheduled castes and tribes, which remain registered for the purpose of affirmative action. In today's India, the population is categorised in terms of the 1,652 mother tongues spoken. These groups are also further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes.

The traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged, influenced by external cultures, especially in the north western parts of South Asia and also in the border regions and busy ports, where there are greater levels of contact with external cultures. There are also genetically isolated groups who have not been genetically influenced by other groups, such as the Jarawa people of the Andaman Islands. The largest ethno-linguistic group in South Asia are the Indo-Aryans, numbering around 1 billion, and the largest sub-group are the native speakers of Hindi languages, numbering more than 470 million.

Chapter 3: South Asian States System: Diverse Patterns, Similar Tendencies. 

The nature of the structure in south Asian states, with various types of regimes, reflects historical, socio-economic and cultural content as well as the context of their civil societies. An appraisal of the similarities as well as specificities of the south Asian system necessitates a probe into the

·       historical antecedents of the formation of contemporary south Asian states

·       socioeconomic objective and goals as well as policy options and choice of the state elite

·       the evolution of the constitutional frame work of the state system  

·       strategies of alliance pattern and the web of linkage between and among the various segments of the power elite resulting at times in regime changes.

 

Chapter 4: Central Leadership and Ethnicity: Perspectives, Policies and Strategies.

It’s easy to generalize about Asia economies are growing rapidly, nationalities vary widely, distances are long. April 1971, the Indian armed forces began to prepare for swift military action, though in utmost secrecy, in case a peaceful solution of the refugee problem could not be found. Moreover, the operation had to be swift and finished before the big powers succeeded in halting the conflict and imposing a ceasefire.

India's campaign received a very positive response from the media, the intelligentsia and the students in the West and ultimately from the West European governments besides the people and the governments of the Soviet Union and other European Communist countries. But the governments of the United States and China adopted an unsympathetic and even hostile attitude towards India. Ignoring Indian protest, the US continued to supply arms to Pakistan. It also tried to pose the problem of Bangladesh primarily as an issue between India and Pakistan rather than one of Bangladesh's independences. China was fully supportive of Pakistan as it had become virtually its ally.

 

Chapter 5: Ethnic Movement: Dynamic of Demand- Divergence

The phenomenon of ethnicity is an intrinsic component of the socio-political realities of multi-ethnic states in South Asia as well as in other parts of the world. Today, ethnicisation of politics and politicisation of ethnic communities have become very common and have diffused mutual tolerance, and have thus sharpened ethnic consciousness among various communities. At this juncture, the processes of socio-economic change, the ethnic dimensions of the power structure, and the policies, strategies as well as tactics adopted by various governments in response to the urges and aspirations of different ethnic groups provide a ground for a clear understanding of ethnicity, ethnic conflict and their dimensions.

The concept of ethnicity has also become a critical variable in the formation and reformation of states. Some scholars have argued that even the partition of colonial India into the two new states of India and Pakistan had its roots in the ethnic distinctiveness of the two nations. India and Sri Lanka have largely been on the amplification of racial conflict. There has been no uniform pattern in the upsurge or the tension of the racial conflicts. They have, nonetheless, shown heightening of the conflagration from time to time. India has been a case of composite culture, while Sri Lanka has not been into that frame.

There have been several peace accords signed during these years. The Peace Accord in Assam in 1985, and the Bodo Accord, 1983, have taken care of the problem of the east. Although the north-east simmers with socio-political problems, it appears that the major problem of Assam regarding the issue of erstwhile Bangladeshis has been put to rest. It is essential to note that in such cases the problem is more social than political and vice-versa at the same time. This intermeshing of ethnic issues with politics as well as regional considerations has been commanding attention.

 

Chapter 6: Ethnic Dynamics of Autonomist and secessionist demand. 

South-East Asia is one of the most complex regions in the world as far as ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity is concerned with an extremely rich ancient and contemporary history. Because of this, it offers an exceptionally rich field of study for inter-ethnic relations. This book examines interethnic relationships between groups and the dynamics of exchange networks throughout Asia and includes case studies based in Vietnam, Burma, Laos, Nepal, China, and Siberia.

The innovative aspect of this book lies in the fact that the contributors examine relationships between groups and the dynamics of exchange networks across Asia rather than ethnic groups studied in isolation. Rendering the important moments of daily life of ethnic groups and focussing on the exchanges between groups sharing a specific social space, this approach, today still rarely used in Asian anthropology, allows systems of exchange to emerge and for us to understand the systems of power and local leadership from the inside out.

 

Chapter 7: Ethnic Separatism: External Dimension

Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. Separatist groups practice a form of identity politics, or political activity and theorizing founded in the shared experiences of the group’s members.

Separatism can include autonomism and secessionism, despite the fact that independence is the primary goal of many separatist movements. Many separatist movements arise as a result of religious, racial, social, and cultural disparities between certain peoples and the majority or ruling class in a country. What constitutes an autonomist or secessionist movement is often debatable; entries on this list must be recognized by credible sources as involved, separatist, and composed of citizens of the country from which independence is sought.

The 1971 Bangladesh War for Independence broke the idea that Islam alone was enough to unite South Asia’s Muslims. India never saw a successful separatist movement, and one reason for that may have been India’s decision to redraw India’s states along ethno-linguistic lines and allow them to conduct business in their own official language. If India had pushed Hindi across the board like Pakistan did with Urdu in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) India might have seen its own violent secessionist uprisings.

 

Language analysis: The book contains an abstract which will give most of the ideas about the content inside. Additionally, there are keywords for easy understanding of the topic. Each chapter is divided into 3 parts Introduction, sub topics and conclusion which make reading and understanding of the content easier.  She used regular language so its very easy to draw the idea what she wants to convey. This book provides in-depth study of the south Asia in terms of ethnicity and nation – building. It is a standardized book.

 

Implication: The book India after Independence by Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee explained about the Politics in the States (I): Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam in Chapter 22. Under the topic Foreign Policy Initiatives, they have explained about the LTTE, and neighboring countries policies and strategies.

This book provided an intense information about the relation between India and other neighboring countries in terms of policies, alliances, and ethnicity. It also gave a depth knowledge about the south Asia culture, south Asian state system in different dimension.    

 

Conclusion:

The book provided an understanding about a critical appraisal of various theoretical approaches to the study of ethnicity and nation-building, Delineates the ethnic composition of the South Asian, Nationalism and the nation-state are Western concepts, made global following the age of colonization and then made standard during the 20th century. Though the idea of belonging to a country with a unified identity seems almost inherent today it’s an extremely radical idea.

For most of human history people only identified with their personal networks (extended family, community, caste, tribe etc.). The Western notion of an ethnically homogenous nation-state with a shared culture and unified identity did not exist and made little sense in a world of extreme diversity.

As centuries went on homogenous ethnic regions with a shared language and identity formed. The issue with this is following the end of colonialism many non-Western nations adopted the idea of the homogenous nation-state despite being very diverse. Western cultural diversity was destroyed over the course of centuries to make way for nationalism, the non-West thought they could do it immediately. This is what transformed countries like Lebanon (once a stable, wealthy, and diverse region for thousands of years) into a powder keg of conflict. It’s also what inspired bizarre ideas like trying to make Urdu the official language of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) with zero status for Bengali.