Republic Day exudes a sense of carnival, while Independence Day exudes gravitas and solitariness of being. Republic Day is a costume ball of diversity, while Independence Day insists on a report card, an assessment of the nation. This nexus between majoritarianism, mediocrity and violence makes citizenship a haphazard and unsettled affair. Citizenship becomes a surreal and haunting emptiness, a stigmatisation of the person as alien as he or she becomes the new non-being of the constitutional regime. Citizenship becomes a surreal and haunting emptiness, a stigmatisation of the person as alien as he or she becomes the new non-being of the constitutional regime.

Source: Indian Express August 14, 2023 01:43 UTC