Maharashtra Board Class 12 Political Science Chapter 4 Contemporary India Challenges to Peace Stability and National Integration PDF Download

Contemporary India: Challenges to Peace, Stability and National Integration

A democratic society is likely to have a diversity of views. Such a diversity arises from a variety of socio-economic, political and cultural factors. In India, the situation is further complicated by factors such as caste, religion, poverty, illiteracy, demographic pressures, ethnic and linguistic diversity. The country has witnessed many disturbances – agrarian unrest, labour and student agitations, communal riots and caste related violence. A lack of good governance and poor implementation of laws are the major factors for public disorder.

Public order, stability and peace implies a harmonious state of society. It implies the absence of disturbance, riot, revolt, and lawlessness. Maintenance of law and order is universally recognised as the prime function of the State. Peace and stability are one of the crucial requirements for the political, economic and socio-cultural development of the State. The lack of it is likely to lead to divisive tendencies in the state. It is the function of the State to ensure that there is peace and stability and that the nation remains united. In any state there are likely to be diverse groups in the society, establishment of a dialogue between them is also an initiative that the State would be expected to take. This is the process of nation building and national integration.

Nation, Nationalism and State, are among the foundational concepts in political science. We have studied these in Std. XI. Let us revise a few important points regarding these:

Nation is a community that is bound together by a feeling of unity and oneness based on certain factors. They are people who identify socially, culturally, politically and want to establish a separate identity for themselves. There is a sense of oneness that is psychological and born out of commonness of culture, ethnicity, religion, language, history, etc.

Nationalism is a sense of political identity. They gain a sense of identity and self-esteem by this identification. It is a force that creates the feeling of oneness in a community based on ethnicity, race, religion, language or any other factors.

When people of a nation want to become a sovereign country, it means they are demanding the right to self-determination. It is this urge for political self-determination that leads a nation in the direction of statehood. When does a nation become a state? A State must have the following characteristics to qualify for statehood: sovereignty; independent government, territory and population.

A State may have people belonging to different ethnicity, race, religion, language, etc. These people may have a sense of their own identity. But they desire to come together to create a State. Most of the States in the world are multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-racial, etc. They are multi-cultural pluralist entities. The basic problem that any state would face therefore, is the problem of national unity, integrity and consolidation. This problem is the problem of national integration.

What is the role of the State? The values of nationalism, secularism, and democracy and goals, economic development and social change are the ones that determine the role of the State. This role may be described as follows:

Peace and Order

The State ensures peace and order in the society. The core purpose of the State is protection. This role has also been described as 'state building'. The survival of the political system may be threatened from international or domestic environment. The maintenance of security and survival of the state, its constitution and political order is one of the key roles of the State.

Economic Development

The State is expected to intervene in the economic life for the purpose of promoting industrial and agricultural growth and economic development. Economic stability and growth would ensure the economic wellbeing of the people. This does not imply creating a Socialist System and Planning. It implies that the State must be a facilitator of economic development.

Nation Building

This refers to the problem of ensuring that the diversity in a society does not lead to disintegration of the State. Nation Building is closely associated with the idea of national integration.

Governance

Involvement of the members of the society in the decision-making process of the State is good governance. This is sometimes referred to as 'democratisation' or the creation of a 'participatory state'.

Welfare

This refers to the application of the principles of social justice, fairness and equality. The State is expected to rectify the imbalances in the society so that the marginalised sections of the society do not suffer.

The values of nationalism, secularism, and democracy and goals economic development and social change are essentially those associated with nation building.

The problem of national integration is universal. It involves a dialogue and reconciliation of all diversities to build up a common national identity. These diversities may be of socio-cultural, regional, religious, linguistic and economic nature. Such an identity may be labelled as nationalism. In its effort of creating a common national identity nationalism tries to promote the forces of unity in the nation. It seeks to reconcile the differences and forge a national rather than a sectoral perspective.

'National integration cannot be built by brick and mortar; it cannot be built by chisel and hammer; it has to grow silently in the minds and hearts of men.' - Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

National integration does not wipe out the individual or group identities of various sections of the society. It does not try to create a homogeneous society. It only believes in creating a territorial nationality which overshadows subordinate group identities. For example, when we say we are Indians, it is a territorial nationality of being an Indian in the country of India. The subordinate identities of being a Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, etc are not eliminated. They remain subordinate to the territorial national identity of being an Indian. The American use the word 'salad bowl' to describe their socio-political system. The task of a nation, thus, is to recognise the regional, ethnic, linguistic, religious, etc. diversity and seek to preserve, consolidate and strengthen its unity. This in essence is the problem of national integration.

Teacher's Note

National integration means all Indians should feel like one family even though we speak different languages. Just like your school has students from many religions and states, but everyone feels like one school family.

Exam Trick

Remember: National integration = Unity in Diversity. Think of India as a salad bowl where each vegetable keeps its own taste but together makes a beautiful dish.

Points to Remember

Nation is a group of people with common culture, language, and history who want their own identity.
Nationalism is the feeling of pride and loyalty toward your nation.
A State needs sovereignty, government, territory, and people to exist.
National integration means keeping unity while respecting different groups.
The State's main job is to keep peace, order, and stability in society.

Melting Pot and Salad Bowl

The concept of Melting Pot was used to describe the American society. Its basic idea presents the whole nation as one large pot. Anyone who enters the United States is automatically thrown into this "pot" where, over a period of years, a process of assimilation into the American belief systems takes place. All the cultural aspects of individual cultures of the migrants (Italian, French, German, African, Asian, etc.) are melted, to form a new 'American' culture. The concept of Salad Bowl does not talk of melting of cultural identities. It argues that every distinctive culture or belief is considered to be one of the tastes or ingredients that contributes in forming the whole; therefore, its original shape and characteristics are maintained. Salad Bowl is a description of a multicultural or a plural society.

The common values associated with national integration may be identified as follows:

Common citizenship
Unity in diversity
Feeling of loyalty to the Nation
A sense of fraternity among all diverse communities
Secularism
Socio-economic and political justice
Equality

What is the role of the State in the context of national integration? This role has to be understood in the context of the following: Forging of national unity; strive for nation building to promote the values that the State stands for; strive to maintain peace and harmony in society; ensure socio-political stability; promote economic development and protect the citizens from external or internal crisis situations.

The role of the State in the process of national integration involves the following:

Promote unity among the culturally and socially diverse groups living in single territorial unit

Establish a national authority over subordinate political units or regions, with distinct cultural and social groups.

Establish a dialogue between the State authority and the people to understand their aspirations and life conditions.

Evolve certain values and goals that would help maintain social order

Nations stay together when citizens share enough common or shared values and preferences and can communicate with each other. National unity is the solidarity within citizens of a nation and adherence to law and order. National unity is not homogeneity. It advocates a 'community of communities' which respect to diversity and shared values, experiences and geographical relativity. It is a form of ethnic, racial, linguistic and religious tolerance. It is an incremental step towards societal peace. National unity is essential in maintaining a harmonious and functional society. National unity and subsequently societal stability contribute to nation-building.

Teacher's Note

The State's role is like a headmaster's job - to keep everyone safe and happy. A good headmaster helps all students feel welcome even if they speak different languages at home.

Exam Trick

Remember the four roles: Peace and Order, Economic Development, Nation Building, and Governance. Think of them as four pillars holding up a building called "National Integration".

Points to Remember

The State must maintain peace and order in society above all else.
Economic development helps reduce poverty and inequality.
Nation building means keeping the country united despite differences.
Good governance means letting people have a voice in decisions.
The State should protect weak and poor people through welfare programs.

India

In 1947 when India became independent it faced several problems, they included economic underdevelopment, poverty, illiteracy, social inequality, etc. The national movement for independence had provided India with certain values and goals that were to be the basis of nation building after independence. These values were of nationalism, secularism, and democracy and goals were the economic development and social change. The first task of India after independence was to preserve, consolidate and strengthen India's unity. Indian unity could not be taken for granted, it had to be strengthened by recognising India's regional, ethnic, linguistic diversity. This was the problem of national integration or integration of Indian people as a political community.

Democracy was considered essential for promoting national integration and bringing about social change. It was believed that economic development and democratic political order with social change would help in reducing poverty and removing caste and gender inequality.

The newly independent state of India had to take deliberate steps to integrate the nascent nation. One was the structural aspect of national integration. This was done through the constitutional process. The Constitution of India provided some key features that promoted national unity and national identity. The second was the psychological dimension that sought to promote the feeling of Indian nationalism. People who had various types of identities began to be united under the common umbrella of Indian nationalism from the latter part of the nineteenth century. This is the time when people with diverse identities began to develop the identity of being "Indian". The 'civilisational' entity called India began to be transformed into a political entity called the Indian nation during the freedom struggle.

Teacher's Note

India's job after 1947 was like putting together a difficult puzzle - bringing 300 million people of different religions, languages, and castes into one country. Democracy was the glue that held us together.

Exam Trick

Remember: Structural dimension = Constitution (laws and rules). Psychological dimension = Feeling Indian (emotions and pride). Both together = National Integration.

Points to Remember

India had to build national unity while accepting diversity of languages, religions, and castes.
Democracy with universal adult franchise was the key to national integration.
The Constitution created a federal system balancing center and states.
Language reorganization helped people feel their culture was respected.
The National Integration Council was formed in 1962 to protect national unity.

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