J. Roy: "Bangalee-Jatiotabad or Bengali-Nationalism is not a state entity. But, state has to allow free exercise of those secular rights and characteristics, and state has to nourish it to flourish. Non-Bangalees have their own secular Jatiotabad, and they should be allowed to exercise them freely also."
My Comments (S. Bain): So, 'the state has to nourish the Bangalee Nationalism, and allow free exercise of non-Bangalee nationalisms'!! To me this sounds qualitatively similar to 'the state has to nourish Islam, and allow free exercise of non-Islamic religions'. Obviously, I disagree with Dr. Roy here.
To me, if the overwhelmingly majority group really cares about their cultural identity (nationalism, as defined by Dr. Roy), they would be least in need of nourishment from the state. All they would need is to put their money where their mouth is, and promote their culture voluntarily. There would be no need to make the small minority groups to feel like step-children of the state. No, I do not think the state should nourish the majority culture and just allow the other cultures.
Thanks,
Sukhamaya Bain
