Q.What do you think are the limitations of nationalism?

Nationalism resists precise definition and can generate conflict as easily as unity, especially when built on a single cultural or religious identity rather than shared political ideals. …

First, nationalism is genuinely hard to define with precision, even though it plays a very large role in world affairs — this vagueness makes it easy to invoke for very different, even opposite, political purposes (uniting Arab states under pan-Arab nationalism, while Basque or Kurdish nationalism is used to divide existing ones). Second, nationalism is just as capable of generating bitterness, conflict and war as it is of uniting and liberating people — the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, and the continuing, sometimes violent separatist struggles of groups like the Basques, are real examples of this destructive side. Third, when nationalism is built on a demand for a single, shared cultural or religious identity rather than shared political ideals, it risks becoming authoritarian and oppressive — forcing one religion or language on an internally diverse society restricts the liberty of excluded groups and undermines the democratic promise of equal treatment for all. Fourth, if the underlying logic of "one culture, one state" is taken to its conclusion, it would require granting independent statehood to every group that considers itself a distinct nation — which is both practically impossible and probably undesirable, since it would create many small, economically and politically unviable states and would only multiply the problem of minorities rather than solve it. Rabindranath Tagore's own critique …