Nationalism in India is argued to be a modern phenomenon that has emerged due to colonial rule (Desai, 1986). Scholars have argued that the growth of nationalism in India has been a complex multi-dimensional process enmeshed with the impact of colonial powers, the subjugation of the Indian people, and the assertions of a diverse Indian society (Desai,1986; Pathak, 2002). Different scholars (Kumar, 2001; Jain, 2004; Benei, 2008) have viewed the school and its curricula as an important agency for transmitting and diffusing national identities.
According to Benei (2008), nationalism is an important yet overlooked aspect of education in the modern state, and there is an intricate relationship between schooling practices and nation formation. Thus, taking the above premise, through intensive fieldwork in the schools in Delhi, this paper attempts to highlight that the nation is daily reproduced and nurtured in its youth through processes of education and schooling and is indeed a “banal” process as argued by (Biling, 1995; Benei, 2008).
The present study explores the following research questions:-
- What is the role of everyday practices of schooling in constructing notions of national identity amongst young adults? In what ways do the ideas of nationalism include and exclude different social groups?
- How do the social categories of caste, class, religion, gender, and language intersect with ‘national identity,’ specifically in history textbooks? How do teachers' assumptions of these categories influence their pedagogical practices?
This study has significant anthropological implications as it explores the complex relationship between education and nation-building, citizenship, and the banality embedded in the process. This research is particularly significant for anthropologists interested in understanding how nation-states are created and maintained through the education system and the impact of this process on diverse cultural groups within the society.
