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29 Aug 2022
GS Paper 1
Indian Society
Day 50: India's regionalism is the product of several interrelated circumstances. In this context, explore the various forms of regionalism in India and offer appropriate solutions to reduce their detrimental effects. (150 Words)
Approach
- Give a brief introduction about regionalism.
- Highlight the types of the regionalism.
- Describe the impact associated with It.
- Give a fair conclusion.
Answer:
A strong affinity to one's own region is referred to as regionalism. Thus, it is an ideology that aims to advance a region's cause. The emergence of regionalism in India is due to a number of reasons, including:
- Regional ideology arose historically as a result of the development of many regional kingdoms and frequent regional battles.
- Different food and clothes evolved as a result of a region's distinct geography. The mother tongue (linguism) also fostered a strong commitment to one's native tongue, and hence regional identity emerged.
- The emergence of regionalism was also aided by the formation of regional parties to safeguard regional interests.
- Economic inequality between states led to regionalism as a result of lopsided economic development. In this background, the different types of regionalism are categorized as follows:
- Parochialism: When individuals in an area prioritise regional interests over nationalist perspectives.
- For ex- Violence by ULFA (Assam) against Bihari.
- Regionalism: When people in an area raise their voices in support of their autonomy, rights, and fair part in the development process, and desire independent statehood or autonomy within the state, this is reflected.
- For ex- Bodoland demand.
- Secessionism: when a region wants to break away from the nation in order to recognise itself as a distinct entity on the global map
- For ex- Z. Phizo demand for Nagaland.
- Inter-state rivalry: Conflict over the dividing of shared resources and territorial disputes results from a state's perception of other states as rivals. An example is the Tamil Nadu-Kerala Cauvery water conflict.
Way Forward:
- To reconcile competing regional objectives, the National Integration Council's function must be redefined.
- Reviving national games such as Hockey, which can become a symbol of unity.
- To prevent racism based on area, cultural sensitization needs to be promoted in universities. For ex- setting up food stalls from other states.
- The focus must also be on the development of underdeveloped, backward and naxal hit regions.
- Such actions will assist in achieving Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat's goal.
