Nationalism-Religion Dynamics in Asif Currimbhoy's The Captives

Nationalism is an important topic of discussion today. In the context of contemporary situations, political theorists are not unanimous about the nuances and connotations of nationalism. In the popular sense of the term, nationalism refers to loyalty to and love for the nation. Asif Currimbhoy in his play, The Captives (1963), foregrounds the issue of how nationalism and the minority religion get locked in a situation of conflict and tension in the Indian nation-state. This article will critically examine how a narrow idea of nationalism as conceived in popular ideology can pose a grave danger to the life of a true nationalist who professes the 'wrong' religion. Hasan, an Indian Muslim soldier, who puts his life at risk for the sake of his motherland, is asked to prove his love for the nation. This paper will also foreground the dilemma that is deep-seated in the psyche of the Indian Muslims many of whom chose a secular India over an Islamic Pakistan.