Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.
10 marks · answer in 150 words · directive: Comment
The core of a good answer
India's deep religious, linguistic and regional diversity is held together by shared civilisational links, a constitutional framework of rights, federalism and secularism, and economic interdependence; communalism and regionalism strain this unity but have not displaced it.
An outline written by upsc.help, not an official UPSC answer; every fact checked by a separate review. How we work
What the question asks
'Comment' asks for a reasoned opinion on the statement. Show the scale of diversity, the bonds of unity, then the challenges with examples, and conclude whether the statement holds. Note that regionalism can be healthy assertion as well as a threat.
Answer outline
Introduction
India is home to all major world religions, 22 scheduled languages and 99 other languages counted in Census 2011, and many regional cultures; the idea of unity in diversity describes how these coexist within one political community.
Extent of diversity
- Census 2011: Hindus 79.8%, Muslims 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jains 0.4%.
- Census 2011 rationalised 19,569 raw returns into 1,369 mother tongues and 121 languages, 22 of them in the Eighth Schedule.
Bonds of unity
- Shared pilgrimage networks, syncretic traditions (Bhakti and Sufi), festivals and a common history of the freedom struggle.
- Constitution: one citizenship, Fundamental Rights, Articles 29 and 30 protecting minority culture, Article 51A(e) duty to promote harmony.
- Secularism held part of the basic structure in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994).
- Linguistic states (States Reorganisation Act, 1956) accommodated identity within the Union; national market and migration create interdependence.
Challenge of communalism
- Communal violence (for example 1984 anti-Sikh riots, 2002 Gujarat) and polarisation through misinformation erode trust.
- Electoral mobilisation along religious lines.
Challenge of regionalism
- Inter-state river disputes, sons of the soil campaigns against migrants, and demands for separate states.
- Yet many regional demands were met within the Constitution, as with Telangana in 2014, showing accommodation rather than break up.
Institutions for integration
- National Integration Council (1961) and cultural exchange programmes; federal bargaining through the Finance Commission and GST Council.
Conclusion
The statement largely holds: India's unity has survived because it does not demand uniformity. Sustaining it needs firm action against communal violence and fair federal accommodation of regional aspirations.
Examples and data to cite
- S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, 11 March 1994, nine-judge bench: secularism is a basic feature.
- National Integration Council formed in 1961 after a conference convened by Nehru; first met June 1962.
- States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
- Formation of Telangana in 2014.
Facts to remember
- Census 2011: 121 languages, 22 in the Eighth Schedule and 99 others.
- Hindi was the first language of 43.63% of the population in Census 2011.
- The 42nd Amendment (1976) added 'secular' to the Preamble.
- Article 51A(e) asks citizens to promote harmony transcending religious, linguistic and regional diversities.
Where it sits in the syllabus
- GS1: Indian society and diversity
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
- GS1: Empowerment, communalism, regionalism, secularism
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.