Ever wondered why the concept of passports exists? Why are you not allowed to enter another country without the permission of their government? Yes, because we are not the

residents of that country. Think about the flag of a nation or a country. Our freedom is limited to the borders of our country. When you look at that flag, what are the thoughts that come to your mind?

For example, when I look at a piece of cloth with red and blue colours and white stars on it, the name that comes to your head is the USA. A cloth with orange, white, and green stripes on it — it’s Ireland, and if we add a blue charkha wheel in the middle of it, it’s India. Ever thought about what these flags represent? Yes, the obvious answer is a country, nation, sovereign state, or republic. You may call it whatever you want from these words.

Ever thought about why we call a specific territory a Nation, Nación, Nazione, Nação, 民族,

राष्ट्र, or أﻣﺔ?

For your information, if you Google them, they are the same words in different languages used by people who live in different areas of the world with slightly different cultures.

What’s a nation?

At its core, a nation is a large group of people who share a common identity, culture, history, and usually a language. Now add borders to it, and it becomes a country.

We all who are reading this article feel a special sense of loyalty towards a country. We feel that because we were born in that land. Our parents may belong to it or live there for their livelihood. The people around us are people we may have known since childhood. It must not always be the case that we know them personally. We may still feel a special kindness

towards them. They may be our neighbours, people from around the locality, shop owners, or even a watchman to whom we greet with a smile whenever we pass through their vicinity. It is because we share the locality in which we live.

But we definitely don’t know or recognise all the people living in our country. Of course, it is a hypothetical situation. It is practically impossible to know 1.476 billion people, which is the approximate population of India, where I live.

Still, we will feel a connection to a person belonging to our country or nation even if we don’t know them, more than a person belonging to a neighbouring country. Why is that, you think?

Why doesn’t that same feeling of connection exist with a person from a neighbouring country?

Through my observation, it is because we feel patriotism towards our country. It is a proud, affectionate love for your country’s values, culture, and way of life. This is the connection we as Indians feel towards another Indian or towards India.

Now here is the case — how did the idea of patriotism get instilled in us?

I ask this question because it’s just 79 years since India got its independence.

Take, for example, the USA, which was recognised as a country around 250 years ago. Similarly, France was recognised around 234 years ago as a modern republic.

The whole concept of borders came into existence only a few hundred years ago, which is not very old compared to the existence of humans or Homo sapiens on Earth, who are around 300,000 years old.

Patriotism and loyalty

The word “patriotism” is derived from the Greek root Patris (πατρίς), meaning “fatherland” or “native land.” Patriotes (πατριώτης) meant “fellow countryman” — someone from the

same fatherland. The Romans adopted the Greek concept into Latin as patriota, meaning

“fellow countryman.” Centuries later, the word entered Old French as patriote in the late 15th century.

By the time the word entered English in the late 1500s and 1600s, its meaning shifted slightly. A “patriot” was no longer just a “fellow countryman,” but specifically a distinguished citizen who loved, supported, and was loyal to their country.

The suffix “-ism” (which means a practice, system, or philosophy) was added later, creating the word patriotism by the early 1700s to describe the actual feeling and devotion to one’s homeland.

How Humans Lived Before Countries Existed

Before the late 18th century, people rarely felt a sense of duty toward a “nation.” In fact, for a common man, a king or monarch was just a ruler who collected taxes and allowed them to

practise their religion. Common people were more loyal to their family, religion, God, communities, and local lords.

Society was largely feudal. There was no rule by a strong central government. Religions and caste played an important role in society. There were local landlords who used to look after the administration of people and collect taxes on behalf of kings.

No one really cared about the nation as a whole. People were governed by oaths and promises instead of legal contracts.

Religion was often far more important than nationality. Christians identified themselves as part of Christendom, while Muslims identified with the wider Islamic Ummah. Religious identity frequently transcended political borders. Wars were fought for dynasties and faith rather than for nations. Even monarchs ruled not as representatives of a people but as divinely sanctioned sovereigns. Subjects obeyed the king because he was believed to rule by God’s authority.

Rise of Patriotism

The need for patriotism emerged when feudalism started to decline. It became difficult to govern large areas as people started opposing monarchies. An important example is the French Revolution. Revolutionary leaders claimed that sovereignty belonged not to kings but to the nation itself. Citizens were encouraged to fight for liberty, equality, and the homeland. The revolutionary government introduced mass conscription, creating citizen armies motivated by patriotic feeling rather than feudal obligation. For the first time, large numbers of ordinary people believed they were defending their nation rather than serving a ruler.

In India, colonial administration centralised political authority over much of the subcontinent for the first time in history. Railways, telegraphs, modern education, newspapers, and

English-language communication connected distant regions together. People started understanding policies and political movements on a larger scale. Railways made commuting

more accessible between regions of India. The printing press made common people more aware of the political situation, atrocities, and laws of the state.

Indian nationalism became powerful only when leaders transformed it from an intellectual idea into a movement of ordinary people. Leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave nationalism an assertive political voice through the demand for Swaraj, while Mahatma

Gandhi expanded it into a mass struggle rooted in non-violence and collective participation. Gandhi’s greatest contribution was perhaps his attempt to unite Indians across divisions of caste, religion, and region under a shared national identity.

Thus, patriotism emerged as a modern form of collective identity, replacing older loyalties to feudal lords, dynasties, and religious communities. It allowed modern states to unify millions of strangers, justify centralised political power, and mobilise entire populations for industrial economies and mass warfare. This is how, my friends, patriotism was invented.

The Cost of Making Borders

After the Industrial revolution countries and Nation-states began to form. These borders are

thus what I call imagined borders made by superior politicians or governments. These borders have cost humanity millions of lives. The feeling of “my country” is good until the ideologies of other countries clash. Take, for example, Russia and Ukraine or India and Pakistan.

Russia–Ukraine

The continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine also demonstrates how powerful nationalism and patriotic identity remain in the modern world. Ukraine has developed a distinct national identity based on its language, history, political independence, and desire for self-determination. Many Ukrainians view themselves as a separate nation with the right to

choose their own political future. On the other hand, Russian political thought has often emphasised historical and cultural unity between Russians and Ukrainians, arguing that the two peoples share deep civilisational roots. The conflict therefore reflects not only territorial or geopolitical tensions but also competing ideas about nationhood, sovereignty, and identity. It shows that even in the twenty-first century, patriotism continues to influence wars, state power, and collective political emotions.

India–Pakistan

The relationship between India and Pakistan also illustrates how nationalism and patriotic identity can shape political conflict and collective memory. Before the partition of British India in 1947, much of the subcontinent existed under shared colonial rule despite its

enormous religious, linguistic, and cultural diversity. However, growing political tensions and differing visions of national identity eventually led to the creation of two separate states —

India and Pakistan.

The partition line, largely designed under the supervision of British lawyer Cyril Radcliffe, cut through villages, communities, families, and historical regions that had coexisted for centuries. Millions of people suddenly found themselves on the “wrong side” of a newly created border. This artificial division triggered one of the largest mass migrations in history, accompanied by communal violence, displacement, and deep social trauma. In many ways,

the border itself became a symbol of political separation and competing national identities.

The dispute over Kashmir further intensified tensions between the two nations. Both India and Pakistan viewed the region as central to their national identity and security, leading to repeated wars, military confrontations, and ongoing hostility. Over time, patriotism and nationalism in both countries became closely tied to defending territorial sovereignty and protecting the legitimacy of the nation-state created after partition.

Israel–Palestine war

The conflict involving Israel and Palestine similarly reflects the enduring power of nationalism, historical identity, and the struggle for self-determination. Both Israelis and

Palestinians possess strong national narratives rooted in history, land, culture, religion, and collective memory. For many Israelis, the establishment of Israel represented the realization

of a national homeland for Jewish people after centuries of persecution and displacement. For Palestinians, the conflict is closely tied to the demand for recognition, sovereignty, and an independent national state in territories they view as their historical homeland.

The debt of drawn borders

The cost of drawing borders has resulted in a number of wars between countries and nations. This pattern can be observed in several modern conflicts. In the Russia–Ukraine conflict,

questions of language, cultural identity, and regional loyalty have deeply affected minority

populations and divided communities. In India and Pakistan, partition led to one of the largest forced migrations in history, accompanied by communal violence that particularly harmed

religious minorities on both sides. Similarly, in the Israel–Palestine conflict, civilians and minority populations frequently bear the consequences of prolonged political and territorial struggle.

These examples demonstrate that while patriotism can unite societies, extreme nationalism may also produce intolerance toward groups perceived as “outsiders.” National identity can

therefore become both a source of collective strength and a force capable of deepening social divisions when diversity is no longer accepted within the definition of the nation.

The Future

We used to belong to tribes, then city-states, and now nations. Perhaps the next step in human civilization is to move beyond rigid political and social divisions and begin seeing ourselves first as members of a shared human community.

It is time we stop believing in the imagined borders drawn on our great Mother Earth and

realise we are all a part of the same globe. There is no religion greater than humanity itself. We should start looking at a new way of living in peace and cohabitation, as citizens of Earth not limited by borders, race, religion, caste, etc. In a deeply interconnected world facing global challenges such as climate change, war, poverty, and technological disruption, humanity may ultimately need greater cooperation beyond national identity.

The Greek philosopher Diogenes famously described himself as a “citizen of the world,” suggesting that human beings belong not merely to individual nations but to a universal human community. Maybe this is the way to go in the future to attain peace and growth for humanity.