Recently, speaking at the Nagpur Book Festival on November 29, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat challenged a controversial observation in Mahatma Gandhi’s 1909 classic Hind Swaraj—the claim that India emerged as a nation only because of British rule.

Bhagwat dismissed this as a colonial narrative crafted to justify imperial dominance. India, he argued, has been a nation since antiquity, bound not by modern political borders but by shared culture, faith, texts, epics, and a deep civilizational consciousness. India’s national identity, he said, has always been eternal, inclusive, and humble.

Bhagwat also drew a sharp distinction between Indian ‘nationality’ and Western ‘nationalism’. Indian unity, he emphasised, arises from interconnectedness and coexistence, unlike the aggressive nationalism that plunged the West into two world wars. While acknowledging Gandhi’s contributions, Bhagwat suggested that the Mahatma had momentarily adopted the lens of colonial historiography on this specific question.

Predictably, political reactions were swift and polarised. Congress leaders described Bhagwat’s remarks as an insult to Gandhi; RSS supporters hailed them as an attempt to dismantle colonial distortions and restore India’s ancient civilizational narrative.

Yet, the controversy raises a deeper question: What truly binds India as a nation? Is India, as Gandhi suggested, a political unit shaped by colonial administration? Or, as Bhagwat asserts, a cultural nation that predates modern empires by millennia?

The truth lies in recognising that India’s unity is neither the legacy of any modern state nor the creation of any empire. It is the culmination of a long, organic civilizational process that has, over centuries, woven this diverse subcontinent into a shared emotional and cultural fabric.

Unlike European nation-states built around a single language, race, or religion, India is a vast civilizational republic—home to hundreds of languages, communities, castes, faiths, and traditions, all thriving within a common sensibility. Predictions that India would fragment after Independence collapsed in the face of its deeper civilizational cohesion. Time and again, India has shown that it is ‘one while being many, and many while being one’.

The roots of this unity run immeasurably deep: from Emperor Ashoka’s moral governance to the connecting voices of Kabir, Guru Nanak, Meera Bai, Tulsidas, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Ramanuja, the Buddha, and countless Sufi and Bhakti saints. Their message was simple yet profound—bind people together, do not divide them. India never used religion as a weapon to conquer others, nor attempted to erase differing identities. This courageous pluralism is the real hallmark of India.

Modern India’s institutions continue to fortify that unity. The Constitution grants equality to all—Dalits, tribals, Muslims, Brahmins alike. Indian Railways stitches the nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The Indian Army secures every frontier. The Election Commission holds together the world’s largest democratic exercise. Even the 17 languages printed on Indian currency embody the everyday experience of pluralism.

And then there are the emotional bridges—cricket and cinema. When “Chak De India!” echoes in a stadium, caste, creed and language fall away. Bollywood brings laughter, grief, longing, and love to people across boundaries.

Picture this: A Malayali nurse in Delhi cheering during an IPL match, “That’s a wicket!” A Bihari student nearby, forgetting exam stress as he tells his grandmother, “India will win today.” A Marwari trader in Imphal locking up his shop and telling friends, “Tomorrow’s match—come early.” These scenes reveal a nation that lives not on paper but in millions of intertwined hearts.

Sacred geography forms another ancient connective thread: the Himalayas and Kanyakumari, the Char Dham circuit, the Ganga at Kashi, the serenity of Rameshwaram, the solace of Ajmer Sharif, the compassion of Velankanni. These pilgrimage routes are not mere religious sites but civilizational highways of emotion where people meet, mingle, and merge into a larger identity.

India’s organic pluralism is perhaps unmatched in the world. No one here is asked to cut off their roots to ‘become Indian’. Islam enriched this land with Bhakti–Sufi melodies. Christianity blended seamlessly into Kerala’s culture. Parsis found not just shelter but dignity. Jews, Syrian Christians, Jains, and Buddhists all walked their own paths while becoming part of India’s soil. Erasure of identities is alien to Indian tradition.

Thus, India’s unity rests on cultural, civilizational, and emotional foundations far deeper than political structures. Constitutional institutions provide the legal framework; cricket and cinema provide the emotional glue. But the real force is the quiet, ancient civilizational ethos that whispers through centuries: unity in diversity, and diversity in unity.

This entire debate is a timely reminder: to understand India, one must know its roots. This country is not a product of colonial administration. It is the living heritage of a civilisation that has journeyed through thousands of years—and continues to evolve, absorb, and endure.