REGIONALISM: A Great Threat To National Unity Of India

Author(s): Salma Abdul Sattar

Source: The Indian Journal of Political Science , JULY - SEPT., 2011, Vol. 72, No. 3
(JULY - SEPT., 2011), pp. 759-764
Published by: Indian Political Science Association

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41858849

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The Indian Journal of Political Science
Vol. LXXII, No. 3, July-Sept, 201 1, pp. 759-764

REGIONALISM
A Great Threat To National Unity Of India
Salma Abdul Sattar

Regionalism Is not a new phenomenon in the Indian political system. Regionalism is a

feeling or an kSeotogy among a section of people residing in a particular geographical
space characterized by unique language, culture etc. The lack of homogeneity in the
Indian population causes division between different sections of the people based on
religion, region, language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties with
agendas catering to one or a mix of these groups. Whatever may be the cause of
regionalism it should be curbed when it threatens the unity and integrity of the nation.
Regionalism can prove to be a positive phenomenon if people having regional feelings
ate able to balance the interest of their region along with the interest of the nation as a
whole Government

Introduction : In the pre-independence days it was

There has been tremendous promoted by the British imperialists and they
deliberately
development in research on state politicsencouraged
in the people of various

India since 1990. The emergenceregions

of atomore
think in terms of their region rather

competitive multiparty system than and

the nation
the as a whole, with a view to
important role that state-based maintain
parties their
havehold over India during the
consequently played in federalnational movement. After Independence the
coalitions,
leaders which
along with economic liberalization tried to foster a feeling among the
people thathas
boosted the role of state governments, they belonged to one single
nation.
clearly thrown the spotlight on the Regionalism
states. The is a problem because it
threatens
importance of state politics in a federal the unity and integrity of the
state
country.
is so evident that it needs to be argued. India
Objectives
is very widely treated as a country :
where
there is no distinction among peoples but the objectives of this research
The main
reality is little bit harsh on the study
person
are as who
follows.
says that India is one. There is no doubt it
1 - To explain the meaning of regionalism.
was true way before in times of
2- To trace the origin of regionalism in
independence, but today's context one does
India.
differentiate on the basis of Language and
Region. India is divided in many parts or you 3- To understand the problem of
can say regions. North, south, east and west regionalism in India.
are considered as four regions and central4- To identify the causes for the rise of
can also be added to this region list.
regionalism.
The Regionalism is more or less the 5- To explain the various dimensions of
child of Indian constitution which states that
regionalism in India.
India is a democratic country and everyone
6- To discuss about the role of regional
has a right to express himself.
parties.
Regionalism is not a new
7- To suggest measures for the promotion
phenomenon in the Indian political system.
of national unity and integrity.

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 The Indian Journal of Political Science 760

Regionalism : Meaning
with an aim of separate state; in Assam ULFA
militants against migrant Biharis and
Regionalism means strong
Bengalis; in North-East against other Indians.
attachment to a particular region or a state
as against the country as a whole. This It can be traced that regionalism slowly
turned from non violent means to violent
feeling arises either due to the continuous
neglect of a particular area or because the
means' to achieve their goals. From Rotti
people of a particular region become
Sriramulu's non violent means of fasting to
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) and
politically aware and seek to fight perceived
discrimination. Regionalism is a feeling oran
ULFA's violent means, regionalism has come
ideology among a section of people residing
a long way. Regionalism in present day India
in a particular geographical space is readily used for political gains by petty
characterized by unique language, culture
politicians and secessionist organizations.
etc. that they are the sons of the soil and
Economic reasons are exploited for political
dividends.
every opportunity that exists in their land must When violence is used against
be accorded to them first but not to the people in the name of regionalism it is a
outsiders. It is a sort of Parochialism. In most criminal act and is punishable. Article 19 of
of the cases it is raised for expedient political the Constitution of India provides a citizen of
gains but not necessarily. Regional feelingsIndia to move freely throughout the territory
may give rise to demands for autonomy andof India, to reside and settle in any part, and
this threatens the unity of India. to practice any profession, orto carry on any
occupation, trade or business. When ULFA
Origin of Regionalism :
(United Liberation Front of Assam) militants
Regionalism in India can be traced or MNS(Maharash!ra Navnirman Sena)
back to Oravida Movement started in Tamil
activists used violence against poor migrant
Nadu. The movement initially focused onworkers, they clearly violated law of the land
empowering Dalits, non-Brahmins, and poorand also the Constitution which is above all,
people. Later it turned against imposition ofeven above the Parliament
Hindi as sole official language on non-Hindi
speaking areas. Finally, the movement for The Problem of Regionalism:
some time focused on seceding from India The lack of homogeneity in the Indian
to carve out their own Dravidastan or Dravida
population causes division between different
Nadu. The movement slowly declined and
sections of the people based on religion,
today they have become prominent regional region, language, caste and race. This has
parties after many splits and factionalism.
led to the rise of political parties with agendas
Throughout India regionalism persisted. In
catering to one or a mix of these groups.
Maharashtra Shiv Sena against Kannadigas Economic issues like poverty,
in the name of Marathi pride and recently unemployment, development are main
MNS activists against Biharis; in Punjab issues that influence politics. Garibi hatao
against non-Punjabis that gave rise to(eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the
Khalistan Movement and earlier Akali
Indian National Congress for long. The well
Movement; in Andhra, Telangana Movement

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Regionalism : A Great Threat To National Unity Of India 761
known Bharatiya Janata Party is lookedBihar,
upon but also in West Bengal, Orissa and
with grace as a political party that is Madhya
indeed Pradesh, Tribais have demanded a
encouraging to free market economy,
separate Jharkhand State since 1940. The
businesses and others. The Communist Jharkhand movement can be justified on the
basis of administrative viability and unity,
Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports
left-wing politics like land-for-all, right to geographical
contiguity of the proposed
work
and has strongly opposed to neo-liberal
districts from Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and
Madhya
policies such as globalization, capitalism and Pradesh, ethnic and cultural
privatization. The economic policies ofhomogeneity
most of a large segment of the
other parties do not go much further population
than in the region and exploitation of the
local people by outsiders. Jharkhand is now a
providing populist subsidies and reservations.
Just to name a few, terrorism , Naxalism,
state. The Bodo agitation is led by the Assam
Bodo Students Union (ABSU), which is
Religious violence and caste-related violence
demanding a separate state and had resorted
are important issues that affect the political
environment of the Indian nation. Lawto and
wide scale violence and a seríes of crippling
order issues such as action against bandhs to pursue their demand.
organized crime are not issues that affect the
There are numerous issues of
outcomes of elections. On the other hand,
regionalism involved in the inter-state
there is a criminal-politician nexus. disputes,
Regionalism in India has assumed
a) Dispute between Maharashtra and
various forms and found expression in more Mysore relating to the boundary.
than one way. It assumed four forms in the
b) Dispute between Punjab and Haryana
political field.
over Chandigarh.
i) Secession from the Indian Union,
c) Inter-state disputes on Kavery water.
ii) Demand for separate statehood,
d) Dispute on the distribution of waters
iii) Demand for full-fledged statehood, and of Krishna river between the State of
iv) Inter-state disputes. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh.
It is in its extreme form of regionalism
e) Controversy among the States of
that a region demands that it wants to break
away from the Indian Union. The DMK in Tamil
Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir,
Nadu, the Akali Dal in Punjab and the Mizos Haryana, Rajathan and Himachal
Pradesh over the construction and
and Nagas in North-East India, and the
supporters of Khalistan movements had been ownership of dams for the generation

demanding secession from India. There is of electricity.

Factors :
also the demand of separate Vidarbha State
.There was a long drawn controversy about In India a number of factors have
the reorganization of Assam State. The State
combined to strengthened the feelings of
Reorganization Commission recommended regionalism.
that Telangana should be a separate state. In

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The Indian Journal of Political Science 762

1. Firstly because of vast size

country is still of realizing
away from ourthe
country different regions
goal of a nation are
state, at
the various
groups haveand
different stages of economic failed social
to identify their
development. Political leadership
group interests with national interests;
became narrow minded
henceand began
the feeling to
of regionalism has
make progress of their
persisted.
own state or
region, instead of caring
8- Continuous for
neglect of a regionthe
by the
interests of the country as a whole.
government and increasing
2. The increasing awareness of the interference in the affairs of the state
people in the backward areas of India, by the central government has also
who are neglected by the government resulted in the growth of regionalism.
in the allocation of grants and funds. 9- The desire of the various units of the

3. Personal and selfish goals of the Indian federal system to maintain their
politicians have also given rise to sub cultural regions and greater
regional tendencies. As the central degree of self-government has
authority has become weak, regional promoted regionalism and given rise
and state leaders have got the to demand for greater autonomy.
opportunity to increase their own 10- Inter-state tensions regarding
power by encouraging regionalism. resources have also encouraged
4- Regionalism has also emerged regionalism.
because of the attempts made by the Whatever may be the cause of
governments to improve a particular
regionalism it should be curbed when it
language or ideology or people who
threatens the unity and integrity of the nation.
desire to follow a different path. Creation
Regionalism can prove to be a positive
of linguistic states has also given rise
phenomenon if people having regional
to regionalism within the state. feelings are able to balance the interest of
5- Emergence of various regional parties
their region along with the interest of the
nation as a whole.
and then attempts to capture power by
all means have also encouraged The Role of Regional Political Parties:
regionalism.
 Unique feature of Indian party
6- Improvements in transport and system is that in recent times a large number
communication have created an
jf parties have come to represent particular
awareness among the people of regions or caste groups. These regional
backward regions to realize theirparties usually operate in a limited
differences and relative deprivations. geographical area without any national
7- The interaction between the forces of aspirations. Some states where regional
modernization and mass participation parties are active are Assam, Tamil Nadu,
have also largely contributed to the and Andhra Pradesh etc. Causes for the rise
growth of regionalism in India. As theof such parties are as under.

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Regionalism : A Great Threat To National Unity Of India 763
i) India's culture is mixed one and parties
it is to solve regional problems and have
also
impossible for one national party tofocused the attention of the people of
give adequate recognition to the backward areas on various issues of national
importance and thus have made them
problems of all regions. Consequently,
local leaders have exploited the politically aware.
feelings of people and formed regional Though the regional parties operate
parties to cater to the needs of specific within very limited area and pursue only
groups. limited objective, they have played significant
ii) Some regions of India, for some role both in the State as well as national

historical reasons, aspire to preserve politics. The regional political parties formed
their special entity and oppose all steps governments in several states and tried to
towards national integration. To give concrete shape to their policies and
maintain such identity regional parties programmes. Some of the important regional
have come up. They are particularly parties which formed governments in various
strong in India's North-East. states include DMK and AIADMK in Tamil

iii) When there are fights among the Nadu; National Conference in Jammu and
members of a national party, those Kashmir, Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh,
Assam Gana Parishad in Assam;
who are denied party tickets to contest
elections, often set up regional parties Maharasthrawadi Gomantak Party in Goa;
Mizo National Front in Mizoram; Sikkim
to counter the national party.
Sangram Parishad in Sikkim; Ail Party Hill
iv) Economic backwardness of some
Leaders Conference in Meghalaya and
regions and accusation made by such
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana.
areas against the centre's policy of ill-
Some of the regional parties were also
treatment towards them have led to the
partners in the coalition governments formed
rise of regional parties.
in several States <after the fourth general
v) To protest against the undue increase elections of 1967. At the Centre also, of late
of central power, some regions have the Regional Parties have been able to play
formed their own regional parties. critical role in helping formation of Congress
Regional parties operate in a limited government. DMK, a regional party,
area and promote objectives which are supported Mrs. Indira Gandhi's government
specifically related to their area. At the central after split in the party in 1969 and enabled
level they have not been able to play an her to carry on government despite loss of
important role because of the dominance of majority in the Parliament Telugu Desam was
the national parties. However regional parties the pillar of strength for the United Front and
have formed governments in various states later the National Democratic Alliance. The
and are implementing their policies representatives of the regional parties focus
successfully. With the United Front coming the attention of the Parliament on issues in
to power they have began to play an their region and try to influence the policies
influential role in national politics. They have of the Government to promote their own
been able to compel the national the national interests.

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The Indian Journal of Political Science 764
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