COSMOPOLITAN AND DIALOGIC COMMUNICATION IN SOUTH ASIA: A STUDY OF ABUL KALAM AZAD AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST
Keywords:
Pearce and Cronen’s cosmopolitan communication, Martin Buber’s Dialogic Ethics, composite nationalism, South Asia, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, social constructionist, syncretism and eclecticismAbstract
During the first half of the twentieth century, the socio-political scenario of South Asia in general and that of the Indian subcontinent in particular was marked by two distinct trends among the Muslim community: 1) Muslim nationalism and 2) composite nationalism commonly known as Indian nationalism. Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) is commonly regarded as both a major ideologue and a frontline proponent of the composite nationalism. This paper attempts to explore Azad’s significant role as a cosmopolitan communicator in the multi-ethnic and socially diverse South Asia. The paper reads some of the most important woks and addresses of Maulana Azad in light of broad notions of Martin Buber’s dialogic ethics and Pearce and Cronen’s cosmopolitan communication, arguing that Azad’s social constructionist stance is the result of substantial elements of syncretism and eclecticism in his works. Keeping in view the prevailing religious fanaticism and socio-cultural intolerance in South Asia, the study of Azad’s syncretic, eclectic, and anti-communal thoughts is need of the hour. It is aspired that Azad’s dialogic and cosmopolitan communication patterns establish a counter discourse to tackle the ongoing ethnic and religious intolerance in South Asia.
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