Nationalisms inclusive and exclusive: A comparison of the Indian Congress Movement and the African National Congress of South Africa

Abstract

In this paper, the historical trajectories of the ANC and the Congress Party in India are compared, examining both successes and limitations. The crucial tasks in both cases have involved 1) addressing the poverty and poor living conditions of the majority, in part through economic policies related to industrialisation; 2) establishing effective links between well-honed bureaucratic structures and rising popular democracy; and 3) constructing a nation with which the whole population can identify. The paper assesses both situations critically towards this end.