The question of national identity

During my Masters studies last year, one of the topics I picked was, "Does Britain have a national identity?" Many people would find it easy to just say yes but when you think about it does national Identity really exist in this world today?

First, what is national identity?National identity is built on a foundation of fact and fiction that together form an account/story of origins. Myth, tradition and invented tradition are systematically employed towards the making of a common ancestry, the basis for shared belongings and a distinctive identity vis-à-vis the identity of other nation-states. In an ordinary sense, it can be taken to mean that quality or sense of belonging that makes a person quintessentially Vietnamese, Cambodian or any other nationality, i.e. that sense of belonging nurtured by a commonly shared history, cultural continuity and belief in a national destiny.

It is what binds all citizens to have a sense of belonging. Remember the days when England was for the English, Scotland for the Scottish, south Africa for black south Africans, and India for Indians. In my opinion this does not exist anymore, because there's been so much migration, colonization, globalization, cultural imperialism to appoint that there isn't such as a sense of belong.

You may ask what brought this discussion, well there recently came up in my home country a controversy brought by the chosen Miss Tanzania who has Indian Ancestry. so imagine if the country you were born and raised doesn't recognise you as belonging to that national identity? Well this is the same all around the world really, in London where I have been raised since the age of 13 (10 years ago) there are British Indians, Black British (which could be for example Jamaicans born in Britain etcetera etcetera) so does being born in that specific country make you apart of their national identity? Well to tell you the truth, most countries do not agree with it even though they may allow you to have the passport and call yourself British, American, or African but as long as you, your parents, do not look from that country you are not originally from that country despite all being born in that country.

I was born in Tanzania, I have arab ancestry as well as either kenyan or Rwandeese ancestry (can't remember) but we are all Tanzanians and do not recognise the other parts anymore, I know my tribes (in Tanzania) but have no idea how to even say hello in the languages but ofcourse I speak the national language which I was brought up speaking, swahili that is. If you look at me, with my dark brown features, long black African hair, if I tell you I am Tanzanian, you wouldn't have anything that could make you think otherwise. Richa Adhia (pictures), was crowned Miss Tanzania 2007 as well as Miss Earth 2006. The controversy came when she was crowned to represent Tanzania while she obviously looked , talked and was raised as an Indian. I trully understand my country's fear of loosing it's national identity if they send an Indian-Tanzanian to represent as a pure Tanzanian. This is apparent with so many countries that it does not surprise me. It even sounds a bit racist but I don't think it's about racism, I merely think that the fact that when you think of an African, you think black but this has changed and it cannot be avoided.

So we either agree with it, or continue to disagree with it, I don't know what you think. But do you agree with me that National Identity does not exist even in Africa anymore?