NATIONALISM TO NEO NATIONALISM- A HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

A nation is made up of people who have nationalistic common feeling and the notion of being one as a unit. Nationalism as a movement flourished in Modern period i.e. the twentieth century. History has shown that people have been rooted in their native land and have deep attachment emotionally towards norms, rituals, and traditions of their own lands. Since the establishment of civilization, Civilizational identity became distinctive from national identity. During the middle ages, civilizations were tagged with religion. Christianity, Islam, Buddhist or Hindu became religious identities of nation. The end of the 18th century, the educational systems and social life with the emergence of middle class progressed towards nationalism. Political and poetic loyalties were centered on nationalism. Poets, writers, and historians reformed mother tongue and elevated its rank to literary language and rejoiced the glory of the past. In the 18th century, the celebrations of ‘Declaration of Independence' with the birth of American nationalism deeply influenced the French Revolution. Napoleon's nationalism turned French nationalism and it yoked against European nationalism. The German Nationalism rejected French nationalism led by intellectuals and artist. United Nations Organization played a major role in forming and authorizing nationalism as, by 1980, more than 100 nations were the active members of UNO. The highest numbers were from Asian and African more than two third of the total count. The role of UNO also came under criticism due to its dubious stand over many controversial issues. Neo--Nationalism or New nationalism is the present trend and it is reflected in manyglobal political turmoils in recent times. Postcolonialism or postcolonial studies is the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands.