Nationalism has come to be associated with attempts by majority ethnic groups to exclude and persecute minorities. Not only is this detestable, it is quite clearly an abuse of the term: an attempt to appropriate for one component of a society, a designation which by definition must include the whole. In effect, exclusionary nationalism asserts ‘we constitute the nation, so you are not part of it’.

Exclusionary Nationalism:

• Carl Schmitt, a pro-Nazi legal and political theorist, made the friend-enemy distinction as constitutive of politics itself.
• To be political was necessarily to work with a distinction between an extreme version of us and them, friends and enemies.
• Those not on our side, or disloyal to us, are automatically, irredeemably, enemies.
• Schmitt was exploiting a distinction perfected by some strands within Abrahamic religions that invented the idea of an ‘extra-systemic other’, a radical other with whom no conversation is possible, one who is outside one’s semantic universe.
• Those who do not adhere to the doctrine defining the system are enemies to be fought. Internal dissent too is anathema, akin to betrayal, of joining the camp of the enemy, signifying treachery.
• Felt as existential threats, both outsiders and deviant insiders must be ‘converted’, brought in line or altogether expunged.

Illustrations of Exclusionary Nationalism:

• The expulsions of Jews, and to the final solution of the concentration camps; and outside Europe, in the liquidation, for example, of native Americans.
• in the 20th century in both fascism and Stalinism and more pervasively in a host of ultra-nationalisms that have led to ethnic cleansing and genocide in several parts of the world, including Indonesia, Cambodia and Rwanda.
• This strain of exclusionary nationalism has permeated China where undercurrents of Han nationalism have virtually turned Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims into extra-systemic others or enemies.
• It has infected South Asian cultures too, causing the partition of the ‘subcontinent’, ethnic cleaning of Tamils in Sri Lanka and the expulsion of the Rohingya from Myanmar.
• In India, the frequent use of the term ‘anti-national’ for those critical of the current dispensation smells of the same fatal disease.

The issue of Rohingyas:

• Rohingyas are muslims in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.
• They are persecuted by the Buddhist Myanmars over allegations of terrorism and Sedition.
• Rohingyas fled Myanmar and now refugees in Bangladesh, India, South east Asian nations.
• However, the feeling of exclusionary nationalism in the nations like India, Bangla has further affected the Rohingyas.
• The lack of ample resources to serve the refugees, the fear of the nationals about losing their benefits and identity has made them hostile towards Rohingyas.
• The Indian Government has also thrown its hands up in the air claiming that ROhingyas are threat to National Security. Critics allege that this is a form of exclusionary nationalism.

Measures to tackle exclusionary Nationalism:

• Knowing the difference between an enemy and an adversary is absolutely critical in a functioning democracy.
• Humanitarian values to be taught to children from a young age.
• Promoting more people to people contact to reduce the differences and appreciate the diversity.
• Education and awareness to the people about negatives caused to society due to such exclusionary principles.
• State should be secular, bound by rule of law rather than driven by Majoritarian Ideologies.
• International co-operation with the Global bodies like UNHCR driving the changes to protect the dignity of refugees and persecuted.
• Regional co-operation through bodies like SAARC, ASEAN to solve the localised issues like that of Rohingyas in South East Asia.

Conclusion:

The idea that membership in a group comes with an enemy to be fought was a powerful resource in the doctrines of some religions has slowly taken root in Asian religions, including modern Hinduism. It has now entered Indian democratic politics. It is a sign of danger which must be cleared at once and for all.