Identity and Violence: The illusion of Destiny
The book: Identity and Violence, written by the Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen, expresses the arguments against a reductionist approach to identity. It explains how this rigid and inflexible sense of identity, can be a cause for comfort and belonging to those part of a community, while it also acts as the cause for violence and oppression against those outside it.
The author argues that the misconceptions we hold on various civilisations, and the idea of civilisational clashes, which is the basis for most of the violence prevalent, is misleading and adds to the distortion and manipulation of history. It makes for a more politically combustible society. For example, how the world is thought to be divided between the West and the Anti-West. Many believe science and technology, and democracy are Western ideas although India and the Middle East have huge contributions towards those concepts. Due to this misconception, many strongly oppose those concepts. This is dangerous when you want to promote peace. Throughout the book, there is a lot of emphasis given to how people could prevent most cases of violence just by having a more diverse and flexible sense of Identity. He demonstrates how the choice of Identifying as a singular identity, when in reality, you could be so much more, often leads to clashes between those singular communities when they feel their identity is being threatened by those of other singular communities. Globalisation is another such concept that is under debate between communities. Since the effect of globalisation hasn’t been very equal, it is very obvious that the ones who got the shorter end of the stick will oppose it, however, that is not completely true. Communities that have greatly benefited still oppose it because: firstly, it is considered to be a Western concept, and secondly, since they still have humanity in them to want to help those less privileged.
Another issue brought to light by this book is how often and to what extent we overlook the heterogeneity of religious affiliations as quoted by Dr. Amartya Sen. It would be a mistake to call India a Hindu civilisation as many do, due to the presence of multiple other religions in significant numbers. We also fail to understand the diversity each religion holds in itself. Take for example the Muslim community. They are vastly diverse not only in terms of the many different cultures followed by different people but also in the fact that different countries have different dress codes for the same Muslim religion. While Bangladeshi Muslims have a conservative dressing style, Turkey follows a more European one, ditching the head scarves.
The role different institutional bodies play in creating this false sense of singular identity is also explained. Take for example the different schools created on the basis of religious identity. These schools engrave into the minds of children, religion as their only identity, which is in fact not true. The child has the right to convert or choose not to be a part of any religion at all, however it is forced onto them, as their only identity thus restricting their freedom. They grow up with a strong sense of belonging which makes them much more prone to violence, when they feel their identity is being threatened. All that is being asked is that people are given the freedom to make their own choice of affiliation, which by itself can greatly reduce violence.
When a person could choose to identify as an Indian, an economist, an animal lover, a female, a travel enthusiast and a foodie, what makes them choose religion? Oftentimes this choice depends on the circumstances but when their sense of identity is rigid, it leaves them vulnerable to violence. When you have multiple identities to side with, you have no problem with being put in potentially threatening situations due to your adaptability and flexibility among identity. You don’t feel alienated or excluded because you don’t feel a strong affinity to only one Identity. This is why a fluid nature of identity is one of the strongest tools that can help reduce violence.
Although the arguments in this book may give the impression that culture does not matter, it actually proves to you that it does. Culture plays a huge role in understanding an economy and what can help the economy. Policies formed keeping culture in mind are often the most effective ones. Take Ghana and South Korea for example: Both are culturally very different and policies that work for one may not work for the other.
The book's main argument remains the connection between Identity and Violence as you may interpret from the title. Amartya Sen strongly advocates for the need for more flexible Identities because our Identity can be used as an excuse for failure in governance and policies. We must eliminate whatever preconceived notions we hold about identity and work towards a more flexible sense of belonging. Identity should not be used as justification for Violence against humanity.
~ Shireen Banerjee
Email: shireen20banerjee@gmail.com
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