Essays

Regionalism stands for 'the feeling of love and loyalty towards a particular region or an area in preference to the nation or any other region'. Regionalism just like Communalism is such a conservative and parochial sentiment that it can blind people to larger, broader requirements and needs of the Nation. In a country like India where language, customs, traditions, costumes etc change every half a kilometre, regionalism, if not sewn properly into national fabric, can put wrinkles on its unity and integrity- Earlier these voices got subdued under the clarion call of country's independence. But with the birth of India as an individual nation and with the creation of Pakistan, such hushed voices have suddenly become more pronounced.

Three major factors contribute to the rise of regionalism. Firstly, regional inequalities have been responsible for this problem to some extent because the economic development has been differential. Some areas are more developed than the others. Therefore/ it gives rise to the feeling of being left out from the mainstream. Secondly, even linguistic differences play a vital role in this regard, Language corresponds with culture, tradition and literature. In India, such primordial loyalties actually outdo national loyalties- Thirdly, the most unfortunate factor that intensifies the problem of regionalism is the political factor, Unfortunately, our country has produced only politicians and not statesmen after independence, who have encouraged regionalism for their own vested interest of staying in power.

The first demand right after independence and partition was of a separate state for Telugu speaking people- A little spark gave rise to an infinite chain reaction of petty demands for separate identity, The result was - at the time of independence there were 11 provinces that are today divided into 28 States and 7 Union Territories- The tribals demand for Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Udayachal, Chhattisgarh, Telangana - the list is endless. This kind of an unwanted tendency could have been checked by promoting national unity and integrity, keeping in mind the history of the country. But the selfish ulterior motives of a few politicians have actually and successfully resulted in further disintegration of the nation with the creation of new states.

Instead of focusing on the progress and development of the nation in an era where the entire world has shrunk to a global village, we are still quarreling with our own people? over creating new spaces. This compartmentalized mentality is a great setback to national integration and unity. Sadly, it has become a permanent feature of our political system. In our federal society, regionalism to some extent is unavoidable and natural but to cash upon love of people to their region in bargain for power is definitely not acceptable. Probably our constitution makers feared that such tendencies would pose a serious threat to our country and therefore provided for a strong centre.

We have tried to overcome the obstacles of regionalism. Yet a lot needs to be done in volatile situations of Jammu and Kashmir, and the north-east. Keeping in mind the various contributing factors and our blotted history, the government should try to adopt a constructive approach in order to neutralize such tendencies towards factionalism and parochialism and frame policies to create balance and harmony in all regions through economic, political and social development, in order to promote National Unity and Integrity.