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loving your country is basically loving the "idea" of it. a country is not a physical entity, so your love for it goes to unseen elements. who controls those elements? who defines them? those unseen elements are almost always hijacked by the popular narrative. (thread)
the "idea of india", in reality, is nothing but hatred. its foundation is hatred, its building blocks are otherisation & oppression. the propagation of discrimination in the guise of "nationalism". see how easily an idea gets hijacked? the sooner we acknowledge this, the better.
when you love such an idea without ifs and buts and a deeper understanding of what you're loving, you are unknowingly supporting the proponents of that idea. these proponents, i.e. the general population, are the reason a particular government is in power today.
this is the reason why saying things like "you can love your country without loving your government" does not make sense. the country isn't a separate physical entity. the country is the people. and the people elect the government. see where i'm going with this?
blind love will not save you when the "country" you claim to love turns its back on you. pinpoint the problem before it's too late. if your country is treating you like dirt, it's the country's fault. you are not obliged to love such a country.
a realisation of this is the first step towards resistance. if you don't acknowledge the source of the problem, how can you work towards rectifying it?
this quote from fargo applies here very well:
this quote from fargo applies here very well:
this blind nationalism was also the "god" that allama iqbal was alluding to when he said
"in taaza khudaoñ mein bada sab se watan hai..."
"in taaza khudaoñ mein bada sab se watan hai..."
when you love an idea (country) that the people have created, unconditionally, you are surrendering yourself to the whims of those people. they can now dictate the conditions for your acceptance within that idea. they hold the power now, not you.
the solution? reject the definitions of others. take your own story into your own hands. don't let them tell you what to do. stop defending yourself. they are the ones in the wrong, not you.
this thread was inspired by this tweet: https://twitter.com/shams_z/status/1359786722460979206?s=19
