Critique of Nation & Its Fragments (Partha Chatterjee)

Chatterjee leads the reader to confront the idea that all people within a country are the same. He discusses the nationalism of India in terms of the elite and the common person with a separation between the political nationalism and the spiritual nationalism. Class is not something that the western person comfortably deals with, as there is the supposition in the U.S. that all people are created equal, whether or not they actually are. Chatterjee clearly discusses the composition of each of the classes in India. Of interest is the middle class, which was "placed in a position of subordination in one relation and a position of dominance in another."

Chatterjee's book has the purpose of education for any person who wants to be informed and thoughtful about the concept of nationalism and its application for any country, not just India and Bengal. The book is practical in terms of the history of India during colonial and postcolonial times and theoretical in terms of comparisons with any other country, especially the American and European countries, as wo

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although, of course there are hundreds of other languages spoken throughout the country. Chatterjee's strong point is the idea that nationalism, as it is commonly understood by the western person, includes various deeply held beliefs about nation, modernism, history, and identity that are not necessarily true for other groups around the world. Such old style "paternalistic colonialism" is of an imperialistic nature, and it is important for the educated, informed person to realize this less comfortable, less romantic aspect of western history. The associated strong point is that nationalism can exist within a conflicting political ideology, enabling the oppressed to develop distinct beliefs in the civil and spiritual realms, enabling the oppressed to gather strength and solidarity while forming strategies to break off the yokes of oppression. The author makes it clear that India's history cannot be completely understood with a stereotyped western perspective. He asserts, "This history, when submitted to a sophisticated sociological analysis, cannot but converge with Anderson's formulations." There are very clear applications, even within the U.S., as there are many histories of the American people, not just the Europeans w
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Approximate Word count = 1533
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)