Q.Illustrate with suitable examples the factors that lead to the emergence of nationalist feelings.

Nationalist feeling usually grows from a mix of shared belief, a common sense of history, attachment to territory, and shared political ideals. …

First, shared belief: a nation exists when its members believe they belong together, much as a sports team exists only because its players think of themselves as one collective unit rather than separate individuals. Second, a sense of continuing history: nationalists in India, for example, invoked the country's ancient civilisation and cultural heritage to claim a long, continuing history binding a diverse people together — captured in Nehru's description, in The Discovery of India, of "that tremendous impress of oneness" beneath India's outward diversity. Third, attachment to territory: sharing a homeland over a long period creates collective identity, whether that homeland is described as a motherland, fatherland or holy land — as with the Jewish people's enduring claim to Palestine as their 'promised land,' or the Indian nation's identification with its rivers, mountains and regions. Fourth, shared political ideals: members of a nation affirm a common vision of the state they want to build, around values like democracy, secularism and liberalism — this is the basis the chapter regards as most desirable for a democracy. Fifth, and more contested, a shared cultural or common political identity — some groups seek a common language or descent as the felt basis of belon …