Chapter 3
In: Nationalism and the Postcolonial
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Abstract
This chapter investigates the link between the Hindi language and nationalism in India. It critically analyses arguments in the works of literary critic Ramchandra Shukla which have contributed to the imagination of India as a nation. It argues that Shukla’s construction of Indian civilization through his history of Hindi literature envisions a central national essence. This construction becomes the foundation to an exclusionary conception of the nation which filters out diversity and dissent in favor of a uniformity of interests of the members of the national community. The ongoing discussion about the promotion of the Hindi language and the dominance of the Hindi-speaking belt in Indian politics depict the contemporary relevance of Hindi to understanding nationalism in India.