Final answer:
According to Rushdie, in its long history, India has never been a colonizer. It has, instead, been a diverse international system characterized by pluralism, sharing a cultural heritage grounded in Hinduism, which was more of a dynamic interaction than a rigid set of practices. a) A colonizer.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rushdie observes that in thousands of years of history, India has never been a colonizer. While there have been periods where a single state has managed to conquer much or most of the subcontinent, such as during the reigns of the Maurya, the Guptas, and later the Mughals, India was largely characterized by its diversity and political fragmentation. The empires that rose within India were always indivisible organizations with stable borders, requiring allowances for cultural and ethnic diversity.
Furthermore, India's international system was held together by shared practices and beliefs, including the influences of Hinduism, which was more of an ongoing interaction among diverse traditions than a set of fixed practices and beliefs. This cultural heritage made India highly persuasive rather than aggressive and coherent Hindu nationalism seeking a singular identity emerged much later toward the end of the nineteenth century. The Hindutva movement portrays certain periods, cultures, and religions as impositions causing division, but this view represents a revisionist approach to the complexities of Indian history.