Identities are always plural as man simultaneously belongs to different groups, associations and also have multiple affiliations. There are multiple markers of identity of a human being. He may be resident of a particular state and a particular arca within that state He may be member of a caste or tribe or class have a religion, language, gender, sexual preference, political affiliation, and profession. Each criterion has the potential to crystallize his identity. It is our identity that determines what relations we would share with our neighbours, members of the same community, fellow citizens or followers of the same religion. [Scn, 2006; 2] Some of these identities we are ascribed by our birth like that of caste, tribe, language, religion while others are conditioned by our choice and preferences at a particular point of time like our sexual preferences and political affiliations. At a given point of time some of these identities may predominate over others leading man to believe that he is having a singular affiliation or his commitment and affiliation to a particular group is more important than his other affiliations. Identity has been defined by Taylor as 'something like a person's understanding of who they are, of their fundamental defining characteristics as human being [Taylor, 2004; 269]. Man belongs to different collectivities and his involvement in one of them become the decisive factor of his identity. But it is dependent upon the social and political context. Identity was always there with man identifying himself with his community but the issue of multiplicity of identities and the predominance of one identity over others has assumed much political significance in recent times.
The idea of identity has an interesting trajectory of development since pre-modern times. The idea and the issues on which it centered changed with time and other changes in the social, cultural, political and economic context. The pre-modern notion of identity was different from the modern enlightenment version of identity and the post modern concept of identity different from both the earlier ones.
The pre-enlightenment and PR Hobbesian notion of identity was based on primordial and religious ties. It was the membership of a community that was the core of the identity of man. It was not an individual-centric notion of identity. Identity was socially derived and a man was always identified with his religion, tribe or clan. With modernity, there emerged a rational secular concept of identity wherein religious or other social relationships were no longer considered crucial in identity formation of an individual. The identity associated with community was overpowered by an individual-centric idea of citizenship. The earlier sense of affiliation with the community was replaced with a singular affiliation with the civic state. A man came to be known by his rational position vis-à-vis the state rather than his community or religion. An understanding of individual identity emerged at the end of the eighteenth century, a sense of identity very own to one's particular way of being [ibid; 270]. With the advent of liberal bourgaya notion of values in the West, the concept of community identity further went into the oblivion and citizenship became more individual oriented and the foundation of identity of man. Primordial ties like religion, caste, ethnicity, tribe were overshadowed by a civic notion of national identity. The earlier affiliations were suppressed and regarded as inimical to the stability of the social and political system. Liberal societies never allowed any idea of community like language, religion, caste, tribe to become the core of identity. Identity came to be viewed as citizenship and it became a derivative of an individual's membership of a political community of a particular place. Members of the political community were treated as free and equal persons entitled to equal rights. Liberal politics promoted the idea of a common national identity and a national culture. The idea of secular, liberal, hetero sexual, white, able-bodied male came to be projected as the universal core idea of identity. Liberal politics projected this idea of a normal citizen and any person who deviated from this framework of normality was designated as deviant and either he was assimilated in the mainstream or excluded, stigmatized, and marginalized.
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