Language is often taken as a primary differentiating factor between people as it functions as a vehicle of cultural expression, thus becoming one of the primary markers of identity. In the history of nationalism, language has always enjoyed a privileged position. Not only had the German Romantics such as Herder and Fichte held language as the fundamental characteristic of a nation, but modernist scholars such as Anderson, too, have given language a central place in their respective assessments of nationalism. In Anderson's analysis, ‘languages of power’ enable an imagined community to become real. However, are all nationalisms glotto‐centric? If not, why not? This article takes the case of Kashmiri nationalism, or the Tehreek, to demonstrate that language and nationalism are not necessarily codependent. The paper will first explain why Kashmiri never came to become a language of power in the region and how the disadvantaged position of the Kashmiri language precludes/d it from having any significant role in Kashmiri nationalism. Second, the paper argues that the multilingualism of Kashmiris has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Tehreek and allowed Kashmiri nationalism to assert its civic character.
In today's seemingly ever-globalizing societies, nationalism remains a potent force, most recently illustrated by national governments' responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Even though nationalism and its manifestations are deeply entrenched within societies, the term 'nationalism' itself continues to carry negative connotations, and the dichotomy between 'good patriots' vs 'bad nationalists' appears to be widely accepted in everyday life and the scholarly literature. Likewise, the association of 'good' (meaning 'civic' nationalism) with Western and 'bad' (for which read 'ethnic') nationalism with Eastern forms of nationalism remains prevalent. In this special issue, we critique these Eurocentric approaches to nationalism, highlighting two aspects of nationalism that are often overlooked: 1) nationalism takes many forms, and rather than viewing it as 'good' or 'bad, it should be understood as a spectrum spreading across the Global North and South; 2) there is an emancipatory and creative potential within nationalism for marginalized and colonized peoples that has been illustrated through cases from the Global South. This potentialrepresented by the 'nationalisms of nations without states'forms the central concern of this special issue. Our selection of cases from both the Global North and South reflects our own approach to nationalism.Nationalism continues to be a major global force in contemporary societies due to the many disorienting effects of globalization. The COVID-19 crisis, for instance, has illustrated how national borders, both within the European Union (EU), where borders have practically become redundant, and between states outside the EU, still have the greatest impact on our ever-globalizing societies. Despite being so deeply embedded within our societies, however,
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