Co constructing National Identity in the Era of Identity Chaos

At cognitive level, preliminary idea of nation and existence of a national group is essential to have a sense of national identity. For adolescents, evolving concept of social groups and possible affiliations with them starts during this period. Factors such as process of socialisation, schooling and exposure to media determines how an adolescent conceptualises the nation and reflects attachmentwith it. As adolescents are considered as the future citizens, this study aimed at tapping their perceptual understanding of nation. This study was conducted with volunteer adolescent students from senior secondary sections of four Delhi based school. They wrote essays on Indian national identity organised according to cue questions, given beforehand. Based on legibility and content appropriateness, 130 essays were selected for further grounded theory analysis. National identity was defined using references from native cultural constituents, such as norms, heritage, traditions, customs, and social values. Identity derived from nation was positive and filled with pride when contents were about patriotism and multiculturalism. However, sharp comments on perceived inadequacy of government were supported with appalling cases of disharmony. The expressions elucidating national identity were described more on the basis of external events than self-references. A possible inference may be drawn that adolescents’ experienceswere in formative stage and hence were restricted to terminologies acquired from popular media

Discourse Analysis on Nationalism Debate Reported in Indian Print Media during Feb-Mar 2016

In the age of progressing information technology, media reporting has evolved in the selection, role portrayal, articulation of the news on the basis of presentation and comprehensibility. Both print and broadcast media have reformulated news reporting pattern considering the current global market, advertising and latent political agendas. Use of particular discourse not just influences mindset; its rhetorical presentation modulates perception on an explicit level. News as a discursive tool transforms the reader’s perception on the topic. In the initial phase of 2016, Indian media extensively reported an incident at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi and its effect on the pro- and anti- national sentiments. The reporting was in the context of slogan shouting by a group of students, which was perceived to be anti-national. With due course of time, debates restructured the news into a nation-wide sensation involving various facets, such as, importance of nationalism and patriotism, credibility of the university education, involvement of students from different ideological and identity background (Dalit, Kashmiri Muslim, etc.). In this paper, broad categorisation is being made, namely as, JNU (the university, administration, faculty and its culture), the students (JNUSU president, ASFI members and AVBP members), the state (Judiciary, the ruling party and the opposition parties) and the others (media, celebrities, lawyers and citizens). The present study discusses the impact of news as discourse on the ideological position and activities of news characters (actors) as well as its contextual salience in the national politics.En la era de una progresiva tecnología de la información, la elaboración de las noticias en los medios han evolucionado en la selección, la representación de roles, la articulación de las noticias sobre la base de la presentación y la comprensión. Tanto los medios impresos como los de radio han reformulado el patrón de informar sobre las noticias teniendo en cuenta el mercado global actual, la publicidad y las agendas políticas latentes. El uso de un discurso particular no solo influye en la mentalidad; su presentación retórica modula la percepción en un nivel explícito. Las noticias como herramienta discursiva transforman la percepción del lector sobre el tema. En la fase inicial de 2016, los medios indios informaron extensamente un incidente en la Universidad Jawaharlal Nehru (JNU) de Nueva Delhi y su efecto sobre los sentimientos pro y antinacionales. Las noticias se realizaron en el contexto de los gritos de un lema de un grupo de estudiantes, que se percibió como antinacional. Con el transcurso del tiempo, los debates reestructuraron las noticias en una sensación nacional que involucraba varias facetas, como la importancia del nacionalismo y el patriotismo, la credibilidad de la educación universitaria, la participación de estudiantes de diferentes orígenes ideológicos y de identidad (Dalit, cachemira musulmana, etc.). En este documento, se está haciendo una amplia categorización, como JNU (la universidad, administración, profesorado y su cultura), los y las estudiantes (presidente de JNUSU, miembros de ASFI y miembros de AVBP), el estado (poder judicial, el partido gobernante y la oposición) y los demás (medios de comunicación, celebridades, abogados y ciudadanos). El presente estudio analiza el impacto de las noticias como discurso sobre la posición ideológica y las actividades de los personajes de noticias (actores), así como su relevancia contextual en la política nacional