MP1-INSO-19

INDIANSOCIETY

TOPICS

Unit-1: Unity in diversity of india & impact of Globlizaton

Unity In Diversity Basic Sociological ConceptsThe Family & Kinship The Joint Family Concept Of Patriarchy in IndiaGlobalization

Unit-2: SECULARISM, REGIONALISM & COMMUNALISM

Secularism & SecularisationCommunalism, Fundamentalism & Communal ViolenceFundamentalism, Communalism & GlobalizationRegionalism Sons of Soil Concept

Unit-3: SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

Social Empowerment

Status of Minorities in India

The Scheduled Castes: From Untouchable to Dalit

Issues Faced By Tribals in India

Women’ Movements

Social Justice

Social Security in India

Understanding Poverty

Unit-4: Urbanization & census 2011

Urbanization

Census 2011

Contents

UNIT - 1 UNITY IN DIVERSITY OF INDIA & IMPACT OF GLOBLIZATON

UNITY IN DIVERSITY1. 9Concepts of Unity and Diversity 1. ..................................................... 9Forms of Diversity in India 2. ............................................................ 10Reasons for so much Diversity 3. ..................................................... 12Bonds of Unity In India 4. .................................................................. 13Challenges of Diversity to Unity 5. ......................................................... 16

BASIC SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS2. 19Society 1. ............................................................................................. 19Community 2. ...................................................................................... 19Association 3. ...................................................................................... 20Social Structure 4. .............................................................................. 21Culture 5. ............................................................................................. 21Social Norms6. .................................................................................... 21Social Sanctions 7. .............................................................................. 22Mores8. ................................................................................................ 22Customs9. ............................................................................................ 23Values10. ............................................................................................... 23Socialization11. ..................................................................................... 23

THE FAMILY & KINSHIP 3. 25Conclusion1. ........................................................................................ 30

THE JOINT FAMILY4. 32Functions of the Joint Family1. ......................................................... 32

Dysfunctions of the Joint Family System2. ..................................... 33Conclusion3. ........................................................................................ 33

CONCEPT OF PATRIARCHY IN INDIA 5. 35Family1. ............................................................................................... 37Education System 2. ........................................................................... 38Religion3. ............................................................................................. 38Media4. ................................................................................................ 38Legal System5. .................................................................................... 38Economic System6. ............................................................................. 38State7. .................................................................................................. 39Way Forward8. .................................................................................... 39Conclusion9. ........................................................................................ 41

GLOBALIZATION6. 42Meaning of Globalization1. ............................................................... 42Reason for Globalization 2. ............................................................... 42Dimensions / Impact3. ...................................................................... 43Anti–Globalization Movement 4. ...................................................... 48Conclusion5. ........................................................................................ 52

UNIT - 2 SECULARISM, REGIONALISM & COMMUNALISM

SECULARISM 1. & SECULARISATION 54

COMMUNALISM, FUNDAMENTALISM 2. & COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 56

Communal Violence1. ........................................................................ 56Fight against Communalism2. .......................................................... 57

FUNDAMENTALISM, COMMUNALISM & GLOBALIZATION3. 58Contemporary Challenges to Nation-Building1. ............................ 59

REGIONALISM4. 60Regionalism in India1. ....................................................................... 60

SONS OF SOIL CONCEPT5. 63Sons of Soil Concept in India1. .......................................................... 63Conclusion2. ........................................................................................ 65

UNIT - 3 SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT 1. 67Constitutional Provisions relevant to Social Justice & Empowerment1. 68

STATUS OF MINORITIES IN INDIA2. 71Status of Muslims1. ............................................................................ 72Sachar Committee Report 2. ............................................................. 74Initiatives of the Government 3. ...................................................... 75Conclusion4. ........................................................................................ 76

THE SCHEDULED CASTE3. S 77Population of the Scheduled Castes 1. ............................................ 77Types of Disabilities of the SCs 2. ..................................................... 78From Untouchables to the Dalits: The Process of Identity Formation 3. 80Combating Mechanism against Caste Atrocities and Violence4. 81State’s Efforts for Dalit Emancipation 5. ......................................... 81Way Forward 6. ................................................................................... 83

ISSUES FACED BY TRIBALS IN INDIA4. 84Chronic Indebtedness 1. .................................................................... 84Forest Related Problems 2. ............................................................... 85Destruction of the Forest Environment and the Tribal People 3. . 86Development and Displacement 4. .................................................. 87Analysis of Forest Rights Act 5. ........................................................ 88

WOMEN’ MOVEMENTS5. 90

191. th Century Women’s Moments ........................................................ 91

Women’s Issues During the Gandhian Era2. ................................... 92

Post-Independence Era3. .................................................................. 92

SOCIAL JUSTICE 6. 95

Concept of Casteism in India 1. ........................................................ 95

Caste and Politics 2. ........................................................................... 97

Reservation Policy Debate 3. .......................................................... 100

Social Justice and Social Development 4. ...................................... 102

SOCIAL SECURITY IN INDIA7. 103

Social Security: Concept 1. .............................................................. 103

Social Security: System 2. ................................................................ 103

Social Security System in India 3. ................................................... 104

Organized Sector and Social Security 4. ........................................ 105

Unorganised Sector and Social Security 5. .................................... 107

Centrally Funded Social Assistance Programmes 6. .................... 108

Public Initiatives 7. ........................................................................... 109

Review of the implementation of Social Security Laws 8. ................ in the Country ................................................................................ 109

Suggestions for improving the Social Security Matrix 9. ............ 110

UNDERSTANDING POVERTY 8. 112

Dimensions of Poverty1. .................................................................. 114

Linkage between Poverty and Development2. ............................ 115

Recommendations of Rangarajan Committee Report 3. ............ 115

Poverty Alleviation Strategy Since Independence4. .................... 117

Programmes for Poverty Alleviation5. .......................................... 118

Concept of Inequality6. ................................................................... 119

Conclusion7. ...................................................................................... 121

UNIT - 4 URBANIZATION & CENSUS 2011

Urbanization 1. 123Data Related to Urbanization1. ...................................................... 123Issues Related to Urbanization in India2. ..................................... 124Status of Service Delivery and Governance3. ............................... 127Recommendations4. ........................................................................ 130Urban Development Projects5. ....................................................... 132Critical Analysis of Smart City Mission6. ....................................... 135Conclusion7. ...................................................................................... 137

CENSUS 2011 12. 38Census 2011: Analysis on Literacy Data 1. ..................................... 140Census 2011: Analysis of Health Data2. ......................................... 144Conclusion3. ...................................................................................... 148Census 2011: Analysis of Sex Ratio Data4. ..................................... 148Conclusion5. ...................................................................................... 153Census 2011: Analysis on Statusof Old Age Population6. ............ 153Conclusion7. ...................................................................................... 158Family Planning and Population Policy of India8. ........................ 158Conclusion9. ...................................................................................... 162Socio-Economic Caste Census 201110. ............................................. 162

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UNITY IN DIVERSITY OF INDIA & IMPACT OF GLOBLIZATON

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CHAPTER 1

Concepts of Unity and Diversity

Meaning of Diversity Ordinarily, DIVERSITY means differences. For our purposes, however, it means something more than mere differences. It means collective differences, that is, differences which mark off one group of people from another. These differences may be of any sort: biological, religious, linguistic etc. On the basis of biological differences, for example, we have racial diversity. On the basis of religious differences, similarly, we have religious diversity. The point to note is that diversity refers to collective differences.The term diversity is opposite of UNIFORMITY. Uniformity means similarity of some sort that characterises a group of people. ‘Uni’ refers to one; ‘form’ refers to the common ways. So when there is something common to all the people, we say they show uniformity. When students of a school, members of the police or the army wear the same type of dress, we say they are in ‘uniform’. Like diversity, thus, uniformity is also a collective concept. When a group of people share a similar characteristic, be it language or religion or anything else, it shows uniformity in that respect. But when we have groups of people hailing from different races, religions and cultures, they represent diversity. D.N. Majumdar (Indian sociologist) wrote a book with the title, ‘Races and Cultures of India’. Mark the words in the plural: Races (not Race); Cultures (not Culture). For all practical purposes it means variety of groups and cultures. In India we have a variety of races, of religions, of languages, of castes and of cultures. For the same reason India is known for its socio-cultural diversity.

Meaning of Unity Unity means INTEGRATION. It is a social psychological condition. It connotes a sense of one-ness, a sense of we-ness. It stands for the bonds, which hold the members of a society together.There is a difference between unity and uniformity. Uniformity pre-supposes similarity, unity does not. Unity is a value loaded concept. Thus, unity may or may not be based on uniformity. Unity may be born out of uniformity. Emile Durkheim (French Sociologist) calls this type of unity a mechanical solidarity. We fi nd this type of unity in tribal societies and in traditional societies. However, unity may as well be based on differences. It is such unity, which is described by Durkheim as organic solidarity. This type of unity characterises modern societies. This is largely due to increased specialisation of work, labour, services and increased dependence on each other. For e.g. meet Doctor for healthcare, technician for automobile repair etc thus ensuring unity despite differences.

UNITY INDIVERSITY

Based on Unity

Described by Durkheimas

Mechanical Solidarity

Found inTribal Societies

Based on Difference

Described by Durkheimas

Organic Solidarity

Found inModern Societies

UNIFORMITY

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The point to note is that unity does not have to be based on uniformity. Unity, as we noted earlier, implies integration. Integration does not mean absence of differences. Indeed, it stands for the ties that bind the diverse groups with one another.

Forms of Diversity in India Important forms of diversity found in India are the following: racial, linguistic, religious and caste-based.

Religious Diversity

India is a land of multiple religions. We fi nd here followers of various faiths, particularly of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, among others. Hinduism is the dominant religion of India practiced by most members. According to the 2011 census, 79.8% of the population of India practice Hinduism and 14.2% adhere to Islam, while the remaining 7.37% adheres to other religions (Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and various indigenous ethnically-bound faiths). Zoroastrianism and Judaism also have an ancient history in India, and both have several thousands of Indian adherents. India has the largest population of people adhering to Zoroastrianism (i.e. Parsis and Iranis) and Bahá’í Faith in the world, even though these religions are not native to India. Many other world religions also have a relationship with Indian spirituality, such as the Baha’i Faith which recognises Buddha and Krishna as manifestations of the God Almighty.The Muslim population of India is the third largest in the world. India also has the third largest Shia population(a sect among Muslims) in the world and being the cradle of the Ahmadiyya Islam, it is one of very few countries in the world with at least 1 million Ahmadi Muslims. The shrines of some of the most famous saints of Sufi sm, like Moinuddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Auliya, are found in India, and attract visitors from all over the world. India is also home to some of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture, such as the Taj Mahal and the Qutb Minar.Then there are sects (groups within a religion which follow their own beliefs different from rest of members) within each religion. Hinduism, for example, has many sects including Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava. Add to them the sects born or religious reform movements such as Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, Ram Krishna Mission. More recently, some new cults have come up such as Radhaswami, Saibaba, etc. Similarly, Islam is divided into Shia and Sunni; Sikhism into Namdhari and Nirankari; Jainism into Digambar and Shvetambar; and Buddhism into Hinayan and Mahayan. While Hindu and Muslim are found in almost all parts of India, the remaining minority religions have their pockets of concentration. Christians have their strongholds in the three southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and in the north-eastern states like Nagaland and Meghalaya. Sikhs are concentrated largely in Punjab, Buddhists in Maharashtra, and Jains are mainly spread over Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, but also found in most urban centres throughout the country.

Caste Diversity

India is a country of castes. Caste System is a heirarchical system where members are allocated social postions, powers, access to resources based on their CASTE. Hence, status is ascribed and not achieved. This is important because in modern societies status is achieved.The term caste is generally used in two senses: sometimes in the sense of Varna and sometimes in the sense of Jati.

Varna refers to a segment of the four-fold division of Hindu society based on functional criterion. The four Varna are Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra with their specialised functions are learning, defence, trade and manual service respectively. The Varna hierarchy is accepted all over India. Jati refers to a hereditary endogamous status group practising a specifi c traditional occupation. There are more than 3,000 jatis in India. These are hierarchically graded in different ways in different regions.Today many jatis are clubbed into castes itself

Over period of cultural integration, evolution it may be noted that the practice of caste system has not confi ned to Hindus alone. Today we fi nd castes among the Muslim, Christian, Sikh as well as other communities, eg., hierarchy of Shaikh, Saiyed, Mughal, Pathan among the Muslim. Furthermore, there are castes like teli (oil pressure), dhobi (washerman), darjee (tailor), etc. among the Muslim. Similarly,

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caste consciousness among the Christian in India is not unknown. Since a vast majority of Christians in India are converted from Hindu fold(due to excessive restriction,discrimnation), the converts have carried the caste system into Christianity. Among the Sikh again there are so many castes including Jat Sikh and Majahabi Sikh (lower castes). In addition to the above described major forms of diversity, there exist diversity of many other sorts like settlement patterns - tribal, rural, urban; marriage and kinship patterns along religious and regional lines; cultural patterns refl ecting regional variations, and so on.

Linguistic Diversity

According to Census of India of 2011, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. However, fi gures from other sources vary, primarily due to differences in defi nition of the terms “language” and “dialect”. The 2011 Census recorded 30 languages which were spoken by more than a million native speakers and 122 which were spoken by more than 10,000 people. Two contact languages have played an important role in the history of India: Persian and English. Hindi, the most widely spoken language in North India today, serves as a lingua franca across much of North India. However, there have been anti-Hindi agitations in South India (Gokak movement in Karnataka, disallowing dubbing of Hindu /other language movies into native language, Self Respect Movement by Periyar) and there is opposition in non-Hindi belt states towards any perceived imposition of Hindi in these areas. Recently the demand for Gorkhaland accelareted due to making Bengali language compulsory.There are several languages in India belonging to different language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 75% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by southern Indians. Other languages spoken in India belong to the Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman, etc. More than three millennia of language contact has led to signifi cant mutual infl uence among the four predominant language families in mainland India and South Asia.The Constitution of India does not give any language the status of national language inorder to accomodate its linguistic diversity. The offi cial languages of the Union Government of the Republic of India are Hindi in the Devanagari script and English. The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages, which have been referred to as scheduled languages and given recognition, status and offi cial encouragement. States have autonomy to choose their regional languages for their admistration. In addition, the Government of India has awarded the distinction of classical language to Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malyalam and Odia.This linguistic diversity notwithstanding, we have always had a sort of link language, though it has varied from age to age. In ancient times it was Sanskrit, in medieval age it was Arabic or Persian and in modern times Hindi and English.

Racial Diversity

There are people of different races in India. A race is a group of people with a set of distinctive physical features such as skin colour, type of nose, form of hair, etc.Herbert Risley had classifi ed the people of India into seven racial types. These are:

Turko-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Scytho-Dravidian, Aryo-Dravidian, Mongolo-Dravidian, Mongoloid, and Dravidian.

These seven racial types can be reduced to three basic types the Indo-Aryan, the Mongolian and the Dravidian. In his opinion the last two types would account for the racial composition of tribal India. He was the supervisor of the census operations held in India in 1891 and it was data from this census, which founded the basis of this classifi cation. As, it was based mainly on language-types rather than physical characteristics; Risley’s classifi cation was criticised for its shortcomings.Other administrative offi cers and anthropologists, like J.H. Hutton, D.N. Majumdar and B.S. Guha, have given the latest racial classifi cation of the Indian people based on further researches in this fi eld. Hutton’s and Guha’s classifi cations are based on 1931 census operations. B.S. Guha (1952) has identifi ed six racial types: (1) the Negrito, (2) the Proto Australoid, (3) the Mongoloid, (4) the Mediterranean, (5) the Western Brachycephals, and (6) the Nordic.

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Negritos are the people who belong to the black racial stock as found in Africa. They have black skin colour, frizzle hair, thick lips, etc. In India, some of the tribes in South India, such as the Kadar, the Irula and the Paniyan have distinct Negrito strain.The Proto-Australoid races consist of an ethnic group, which includes the Australian aborigines and other peoples of southern Asia and Pacifi c Islands. Representatives of this group are the Ainu of Japan, the Vedda of Sri Lanka, and the Sakai of Malaysia. In India, the tribes of Middle India belong to this strain. Some of these tribes are the Ho of Singhbhumi, Bihar, and the Bhil of the Vindhya ranges.The Mongoloids are a major racial stock native to Asia, including the peoples of northern and eastern Asia. For example, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, Eskimos, and often American Indians also belong to this race. In India, the North Eastern regions have tribes of Brachycephalic Mongoloid strain. A slightly different kind of Mongoloid racial stock is found in the Brahmputra Valley. The Mikir-Bodo group of tribes and the Angami Nagas represent the best examples of Mongoloid racial composition in India.The Mediterranean races relate to the caucasian physical type, i.e., the white race. It is characterised by medium or short stature, slender build, long head with cephalic index (the ratio multiplied by 100 of the maximum breadth of the head to its maximum length) of less than 75 and dark (continental) complexion.Western Brachycephals are divided into the following three sub-groups:

The Alpenoid are characterised by broad head, medium stature and light skin, found amongst Bania castes of Gujarat, the Kayasthas of Bengal, etc.The Dinaric are characterised by broad head, long nose, tall stature and dark skin colour, found amongst the Brahmin of Bengal, the non-Brahmin of Karnataka, The Armenoid- They are characterised by features similar to Dinaric. The Armenoid have a more marked shape of the back of head, a prominent and narrow nose. The Parsi of Bombay show the typical characteristics of the Armenoid race.

Finally, the Nordic races belong to the physical type characterised by tall stature, long head, light skin and hair, and blue eyes. They are found in Scandinavian countries, Europe. In India, they are found in different parts of north of the country, especially in Punjab and Rajputana. The Kho of Chitral, the Red Kaffi rs, the Khatash are some of the representatives of this type. Research suggests that the Nordics came from the north, probably from south east Russia and south west Siberia, through central Asia to India.

Comparison of India and China

India’s population is about 1,320 million while China has about 1,411 million and have two and a half times our land area. However, there is broad (though not absolute) homogeneity in China. All Chinese have Mongoloid features, they have one common written script called Mandarin Chinese (although spoken dialects are different), and 95 per cent Chinese belong to one ethnic group called the Han Chinese. So, there is broad homogeneity in China. In India, on the other hand, there is tremendous diversity, because whichever group of immigrants came into India brought in its own culture, religion, language, etc..Though there is broad uniformity,recent incidences of attacks against Han community in Ugar dominated Xinjaing region,and its repression by the state shows diffi culty in managing diversity and uniquenes of Indian unity.Unity is India has evolved ,while in china it is enforced.

Reasons for so much Diversity

Extreme Diverse Geography

There is extreme diverse geography like 8000+ peaks in Himalyas, plains, islands, tropical rainforests, deserts, coastal areas etc. And thus people have developed cultural habits (occupation, dressing, eating habits) that suits their climate/geography.

Contact with Others

Since time immemorial, people from outside are coming and settling in India, i.e. Aryans, Indo- Greeks, Sakas, Kushanas, Turks, Mughals, Europeans. And these people brought their cultural habits, thoughts and ideas which amalgamated into existing culture.

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Our core culture, i.e. Hinduism is extremely accommodative. Hinduism is not a homogeneous religion, a religion having one God, one Book and one Temple. Polytheistic (having multiple deities) in character, it goes to the extent of accommodating village level deities and tribal faiths. When waves of Jews, Zorastrism, Christians and Muslims came then Hindus were not defensive. They accepted them. Thus they got assimilated to create the present Indian society. E,g. in Islam and Christianity there are features of caste system which was not originally present. It is to be noted here that invaders didnt try to radically change Indian core value systems ,rather they were attracted ,amalgamated into this micro-cosm.In Australia, Canada, USA etc, the more homogenous English people replaced highly heterogeneous aborigines. But Europeans couldn’t destroy our native culture signifi cantly despite numerous attempts, e.g. spreading Christianity. (THINK WHY?)

Reforms within Hinduism

Hinduims has went through various reforms within itself and has been the source of many religions (Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism) and other sects.

Bonds of Unity In India There are bonds of unity underlying all this diversity. These bonds of unity may be located in a certain underlying uniformity of life as well as in certain mechanisms of integration. Census Commissioner in 1911, Herbert Risley, was right when he observed: “Beneath the manifold diversity of physical and social type, language, custom and religion which strikes the observer in India there can still be discerned .…. a certain underlying uniformity of life from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin”. We will describe the bonds of unity of India in this section. These are geo-political unity, the institution of pilgrimage, tradition of accommodation, and tradition of interdependence.

Geo-political Unity

The fi rst bond of unity of India is found in its geo-political integration. India is known for its geographical unity marked by the Himalayas in the north end and the oceans on the other sides. Politically India is now a sovereign state. The same constitution and same parliament govern every part of it. We share the same political culture marked by the norms of democracy, secularism and socialism.Although it has not been recognised till recently, the geo-political unity of India was always visualized by our seers and rulers. The expressions of this consciousness of the geo-political unity of India can be found in Rig-Veda, in Sanskrit literature, in the edicts of Asoka, in Buddhist monuments and in various other sources. The ideal of geo-political unity of India is also refl ected in the concepts of Bharat-varsha (the old indigenous classic name for India), Chakravarti (emperor), and Ekchhatradhipatya (under one rule).

The Institution of Pilgrimage

Another source of unity of India lies in what is known as temple culture which is refl ected in the network of shrines and sacred places. From Badrinath and Kedarnath in the north to Rameshwaram in the south, Jagannath Puri in the east to Dwaraka in the west the religious shrines and holy rivers are spread throughout the length and breadth of the country. Closely related to them is the age-old culture of pilgrimage, which has always moved people to various parts of the country and fostered in them a sense of geo-cultural unity.As well as being an expression of religious sentiment, pilgrimage is also an expression of love for the motherland, a sort of mode of worship of the country. It has played a signifi cant part in promoting interaction and cultural affi nity among the people living in different parts of India. Pilgrimage can, therefore, rightly be viewed as a mechanism of geo-cultural unity.

Tradition of Accommodation

There is ample evidence of the syncretic quality of Indian culture, its remarkable quality of accommodation and tolerance. The fi rst evidence of it lies in the elastic character of Hinduism, the majority religion of India.

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Sociologists have distinguished two broad forms of Hinduism: Sanskritic and popular. Sanskritic is that which is found in the texts (religious books like Vedas, etc.) and popular is that which is found in the actual life situation of the vast masses. Robert Redfi eld has called these two forms as great tradition of Ramayana and Mahabharata and the little tradition of worship of the village deity. What it shows is that Hinduism has been an open religion, a receptive and absorbing religion, an encompassing religion. It is known for its quality of openness and accommodation. This is one of the main reasons for its continutiy despite forces of GLOBALISATION. Another evidence of it lies in its apathy to conversion. Hinduism is not a proselytising religion. That is, it does not seek converts. Nor has it ordinarily resisted other religions to seek converts from within its fold. This quality of accommodation and tolerance has saved the way to the coexistence of several faiths in India.Mechanisms of coexistence of people of different faiths have been in existence here for long. For example, the case of Hindu-Muslim unity. Hindus and Muslims have always taken part in each other’s functions, festivities and feasts. How did they do it? They did it by evolving the mechanism of providing for a separate hearth and a set of vessels for each other so as to respect each other’s religious sensibility. This always facilitated mutual visiting and sharing in each other’s joy and grief. They have also done so by showing regards for each other’s saints and holy men. Thus, both Hindus and Muslims have shown reverence to the saints and Pirs of each other. And this holds as well for the coexistence of other religious groups like Sikh, Jain, Christian and so on.

Tradition of Interdependence

We have had a remarkable tradition of interdependence, which has held us together throughout centuries. One manifestation of it is found in the form of Jajmani system, i.e., a system of functional interdependence of castes. The term “jajman” refers generally to the patron or recipient of specialised services. The relations were traditionally between a food producing family and the families that supported them with goods and services. These came to be called the jajmani relations. Jajmani relations were conspicuous in village life, as they entailed ritual matters, social support as well as economic exchange. The whole of a local social order was involved (the people and their values) in such jajmani links. A patron had jajmani relations with members of a high caste (like a Brahmin priest whose services he needed for rituals). He also required the services of specialists from the lower jati to perform those necessary tasks like washing of dirty clothes, cutting of hair, cleaning the rooms and toilets, delivery of the child etc. Those associated in these interdependent relations were expected to be and were broadly supportive of each other with qualities of ready help that generally close kinsmen were expected to show.The jajmani relations usually involved multiple kinds of payment and obligations as well as multiple functions.It will suffi ce to note that no caste was self-suffi cient. If anything, it depended for many things on other castes. In a sense, each caste was a functional group in that it rendered a specifi ed service to other caste groups. Jajmani system is that mechanism which has formalised and regulated this functional interdependence.Furthermore, castes cut across the boundaries of religious communities. Notions of caste are found in all the religious communities in India. In its actual practice, thus, the institution of jajmani provides for inter linkages between people of different religious groups. Thus, a Hindu may be dependent for the washing of his clothes on a Muslim washerman. Similarly, a Muslim may be dependent for the stitching of his clothes on a Hindu tailor, and vice-versa.Similarly, in the fi eld of art and architecture we fi nd such a happy blending of Hindu and Muslim styles. This is a proof of mutual appreciation for each other’s culture.Quite in line with these traditional bonds of unity, the Indian state in post-Independence era has rightly opted for a composite culture model of national unity rather than a uniform culture model. The composite culture model provides for the preservation and growth of plurality of cultures within the framework of an integrated nation. Hence, there is signifi cance of our choice of the norm of secularism, implying equal regard for all religions, as our policy of national integration.Cultural conciousness is strong emotion which can be mass mobilized to create disunity and hate. The unity of India should not be taken to mean that we have always had a smooth sailing in matters of national unity, with no incidents of caste, communal or linguistic riots. Nor should it be taken to mean that the divisive and secessionist tendencies have been altogether absent. There have been occasional riots, at times serious riots. For example, the communal riots of partition days,

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the linguistic riots in Tamil Nadu in protest against the imposition of Hindi, the riots in Gujarat during 1980s between scheduled and non-scheduled castes Khalistan seccessionist movement and communal riots of 2002. The redeeming feature, however, is that the bonds of unity have always emerged stronger than the forces of disintegration(THINK WHY?).

Role of Sensitive Leaders

Efforts have been made from time to time by sensitive and sensible leaders of both the communities to synthesize Hindu and Muslim traditions so as to bring the two major communities closer to each other. Akbar, for example, founded a new religion, Din-e-Ilahi, combining best of both the religions. The contributions made by Kabir, Eknath, Guru Nanak, Sai Baba and more recently Mahatma Gandhi, are well known in this regard. Recently Shri Shri Ravi Shankar came forward to arbitrate on Ayodhaya dispute.

Constitutional Safeguards – Role of Constitution Framers

The Indian Constitution has adopted measures for the protection of the rights of the religious and ethnic minorities and of the socially and economically disadvantaged classes such as the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. The Indian constitution enshrines various provisions for the protection of the rights and interest of the minorities.

Firstly, India declares herself a secular state. No particular religion or the religion of the overwhelming majority, has been made the religion of the state.Secondly, Article 29 give the religious and linguistic minorities right to establish and manage educational institutions of their own. The minorities have been given the unrestricted rights to promote and preserve their own culture. Indeed, India is a country of diverse cultural groups and is keen to preserve her cultural diversity. Thus for example, even though, Hindi is made the offi cial language of India, primary education everywhere is given in the mother tongue. It may be noted that there are over 20 offi cial languages in India.Thirdly, Article 29 expressly forbids discrimination on grounds of race, religion, caste, language, in admission to educational institutions run by the state or receiving aids from the state. This means that the doors of all educational institutions run by government or receiving funds from the state are open to all groups of Indians. Linguistic, religious or ethnic minority students cannot be denied admission to such educational institutions.Article 30 is vital to the protection and preservation of rights of the minorities. The minorities have been given the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The state also cannot discriminate against educational institutions established and managed by the minorities in matters of granting aids. Such educational institutions however must receive state recognition. The state educational authorities have the right to regulate such educational institutions because the “right to manage does not include the right to mismanage.”Article 16 guarantees that in matters of public employment, no discrimination shall be made on grounds of race, religion, caste, language etc. This means that in matters of public employment, all Indians are placed on a footing of equality. Every citizen of India will get equal employment opportunity in government offi ces.Finally, Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to every individual. This article of the Indian Constitution ensures that the members of the religious minority community have the unhindered right to follow their own religion. The state regulates the practice of a religion only when and to the extent it disturbs public peace. The minority not only has the right to follow their own religion, they also have the right to propagate it. But the state certainly does and should regulate conversion through force or temptation. Forcible conversion is forbidden because it transgresses the individual’s freedom of conscience.

Miscellaneous Factors

Development of means and transport – They have played a facilitating role in maintaining diversity and increasing contacts.India didn’t have the kind of homogenization wave post–independence that took place in countries like Pakistan (Islam as state religion, persecution of minorities), China (under Mao, China evolved into a nation with single language and ethnicity).

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Colonial rule and participation by all cutting across religious lines has played an important role in unifying us, which is still in the heart and minds of people.Role of Movies, Music, Media which act as a melting point of a unifi ed culture and role of National political parties in building a common consensus, role of progresssive civil society organisations Above all, acceptance of citizens that UNITY is our STRENGTH,COMMUNAL feelings weaken us.

Challenges of Diversity to Unity(Challenges to National Integration)

The account of the unity of India should not be taken to mean that we have always had a smooth sailing in matters of national unity, with no incidents of caste, communal or religious riots. Nor should it be taken to mean that the divisive and secessionist tendencies have been altogether absent.There have been occasional riots, at times serious riots. For example, the linguistic riots in Tamil Nadu in protest against the imposition of Hindi, the riots in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims.In spite of all our unity and integrity, and all the attempts of past and present, national integration is hindered due to some factors. Along with these factors some new challenges have emerged during last few decades. These have created a lot of diffi culties in the process of State-building as well as nation-building.A host of interrelated factors have disrupted efforts to achieve goals of equality and social justice as well as building of a nation-state. All these factors are discussed below:

Diversity of Constituents India is a heterogeneous society. It is made of a number of diverse groups. The fi rst potential threat to the Indian nation state lies in this plurality. The Indian society was and is divided in terms of religion, caste, language and ethnic origin.The British were able to somewhat control the diverse groups by following the policy of pitting one group against the other. But the divisive tendencies were sharply manifested even during the nationalist movement when different groups apparently united to remove the British rule from India.One of the more serious challenges that Indian national leaders in India face even now is how to integrate the interests of the divergent group. Each of them has its own distinctive aspirations, history, and way of life. Attempts to minimize confrontation between confl icting groups do not always succeed. The adoption of an egalitarian model of society is one important strategy to contain the divisive tendencies. It is, of course, necessary that these divisions are not allowed to threaten the nation-state.

Regionalism and Cultural Identities Regionalism is also a threat to national integration. Some of the social elements having their separate cultural identity want to preserve it even at a political level and for this purpose some of these segments want further reorganization of the states.National politics in India is still marked by emergence of regional nationalities. This is quite evident in the formation of States on linguistic basis. It is also evident in demands by some regional identities such as the Gorkha for Gorkhaland,Telangana. Creation of Jharkhand State is the outcome of the demands by some tribals to maintain their cultural identity. Similarly, the Gorkha Hill Council was created in 1988 so are the Autonomous Councils in Northeast,the recent NAGA ACCORD.Despite the early gains of consolidation of the nation-state, diverse cultural identities asserted themselves. One example of this is the opposition in the Southern States to Hindi as the national language. Another example is the demand for reorganization of states.The unequal development of different regions of India has negatively affected the character of national integration. The unequal development has become the major cause of many social movements after the independence. For instance, the Jharkhand movement which involved tribal groups from Bihar, M.P. Bengal and Orissa stresses the backwardness of the region among other

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issues. While demanding a separate State, people involved in this movement argued that the rich natural resources of the area have been drained out to benefi t others.The dissatisfaction caused by the perceived and/or actual threat of material deprivation has led people to think that the socio-economic development of their region is not possible if they continue to be a part of the Indian Union. Thus the regional disparities in terms of socio- economic development have at times proved to be a threat to the concept of united nation-state.As matter of fact, the national level politics has recognized the existence of regional and cultural identities and the Central Government has even provided legal sanctions. Think on the positive aspects of regionalism and its contribution to National Development.

Casteism Casteism is the promotion, practice of discrimination based on birth etc. in public life. It has always played a dirty role in matters of politics and reservation policy and has created a wide gulf between different segments of society. Unfortunately, the caste system has been recognized by the framers of the Constitution by providing a protective discrimination to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Though the reservation was made for a limited period, it is being extended from time to time. The reservation of seats in the educational institutions and jobs on the caste basis has strengthened the caste feeling and resulted in the possibilities of new types of inequalities and caste confl ict.As casteism is considered a social evil and caste ideology does not go well with the egalitarian model of a socialist society, role of caste in national politics is viewed as a necessary evil. It is seen as a factor which poses a challenge to the task of nation-building. All the same in the absence of an alternative basis for people to come together, caste continues to play a decisive role in Indian national politics.

Linguism Due to linguistic and regional loyalties the national feeling gradually erodes. Linguistic tensions are manifested in the borders which are bilingual. For example, Goans are divided on the basis of Konkani and Marathi languages. There is also confl ict between Marathi and Kannada-speaking people in Belgaum.Language has become, especially since Independence, a powerful source of political articulation. For instance in the South, particularly in Tamil Nadu, language sentiments have been propagated among the people for getting power within State politics.The people of different linguistic groups who are concentrated in a State seem to think only in terms of interests of their own States. This undermines consideration of national issues and causes parochial feelings. The erosion of national feeling due to linguistic loyalties threatens the sovereignty of India.

Communalism Broadly defi ned, communalism refers to the tendency of any socio-religious group to maximize its economic, political and social strength at the cost of other groups. This tendency runs counter to the notion of the secular nation-state that India purports to be. Secularism in the Indian context is defi ned as the peaceful co-existence of all religions without State patronage to any of them. The State is to treat all of them equally. Yet, in a secular State like India, we very often hear, see and read about communal confl icts. While making conscious efforts towards the goals of democracy and socialism, the India nation-state has not been free of communal clashes.There is historical evidence to prove that various religious communities in India have co-existed peacefully through time. Of course, there is also evidence that refl ects the confl ict between religious communities. The most well known clashes have been between Hindus and Muslims. One of the major social problems of India in the 80s has been the communal divide problem. When one group asserts its interests and identity at the cost of another group, the communal divides emerge. Some cities such as Moradabad, Meerut, Aligarh and Boroda etc. has appeared as the centers of communal riots.

Social Inequalities In every society there is a system of social stratifi cation. Social stratifi cation refers to inequality in society based on unequal distribution of goods, services, wealth, power, prestige, duties, rights, obligations and privileges. For example, the social inequalities created by the caste system.

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Being a hereditary and endogamous system, the scope for social mobility is very little. Social privileges and fi nancial and educational benefi ts are by and large accessible only to upper caste groups. Social inequalities have a disintegrating effect on the process of nation-building.

Regional Disparities While demanding a separate State, people involved in this movement argued that the rich natural resources of the area have been drained out to benefi t others.The dissatisfaction caused by the perceived and/or acturla threat of meteral deprivation has led people to think that the socio-economic development of thier region is not pssible if they continue to be a part of the Indian Union. Thus the regional disparities in terms of socio-economic development have at times proved to be a threat to the concept of united national state.

Ethno-Nationality and Ethnic Confl icts Ethno-nationalism is a phenomenon of political movement launched on the basis of ethnic identity. It is to mention that the nation-building came to be challenged by the eruption of ethnic confl icts.Ethno-nationalism and ethnic confl ict has hindered national integration. Whereas the modern concept of nationalism is closely linked with the concept of nation-state, scholars have described another prevailing notion of nationalism such as religious nationalism, ethno-nationalism etc. Although nationhood is denied to the Nagas, the Nagas understand themselves as nation in the sense of ethno-nationality. The concept of “ethno-nationalsim” best defi nes the self-understanding of the ethnic groups in North-east India in the various forms of their struggle for identity.In the political parlance of India today, the very term “North-East” has almost come to devote a region characterized by ethno-political movements. Since India’s independence in 1947, we have not seen a single-decade of calm in political atmosphere in the region. Instead, each decade saw new movements of political unrest, most of which turned to violent revolutions. One need not make a substantial argument to show that these movements have their origin in the ethno-national understanding of the identity. Insurgency, an extreme form of ethno-political upsurge, has rocked fi ve of seven States at one time or another, and the remaining two States are highly poised for a similar movement. Insurgency took roots in Nagaland and Manipur in the early fi fties, immediately after the establishment of the Republic (of India), those in Mizoram in the sixties, in Tripura in the seventies, while in the case of Assam it has arrived in eighties. Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh are just now menacingly militant, not yet insurgent though, Karbi Anglong (District of Assam) too is equally poised.

Tribal Identity To a member of the Indian national mainstream, a Khasi, a Naga or Mizo are tribals. The pejorative term “tribal” carries a denotation of primitivity and inferiority of the people for whom the name is applied. The attitude of the national mainstream that primitivises and thereby inferiorizes the tribals is in serious confl ict with the proud self-understanding of the tribals in the north-east. Such a pride is exhibited in their ethno-national feeling.Their fear of losing their identity were the major factor that led to ethno-political movements of insurgency. In tracing the historical development of insurgency in Nagaland, the people’s unpleasant experience of interaction with the ‘non-tribals’ is attributed to be one of the main causes of the revolution.

Concluding Remark

In brief, it can be concluded that various forces pose challenge to national integration in India. The multiethnic and multicultural setting of India and India’s struggle to defi ne its nationhood since nationalist movement provided a fertile soil for the development of ethno-nationalism and other forms of identity-quest. India as a ‘notions’ also suffers acute identity crisis. As G. Aloysiw has rightly notes, Indian nationalism, so far, has failed to construct the nation in India. While the dominant India culture at the centre continues its quest for self-identity, those in the periphery react to such potentially hegemonic and oppressive movement. Although existing as a nation-state for the last seventy years, India has been struggling to fi nd the central integrative force that can bind us together as a ‘nation’.

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