To introduce us to the culture, Nehru steps back in the history and takes us to the Indus Valley Civilization and recounts the dynamic cultural heritage we are proud of being the predecessors of. It’s the culture and the people that make the country and bring glory to it. He wants to know what is that makes India ‘India’. Nehru’s journey is an attempt to understand the essence of the nation. I see a clear resemblance in the ideas of Nehru and Mathew Arnold (Arnold’s paper titles ‘Imagined Communities’ is a perfect reading stuff for those who have misconceptions about the existence of nation and nationalism). It’s not only the land, rivers and resources that constitute the nation but the most integral element are the people of the nation. He asks and explains the meaning of nation to the people. It is the year 1936-37 about which Nehru is talking about. It is a bunch of simple minded villagers whom Nehru is addressing during the time he is on an explorative trip of India like Gandhi.
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