Meaning of unity
Unity means oneness or a state of togetherness. Unity is being in harmony or one in spirit feeling of unity brings the nation together.
In India we see unity in diversity, there are so many differences with respect to region language race, religion, caste, etc. Through all these differences there is solidarity and integrity.
After independence, India faced several challenges that obstruct national unity.
These obstacles to national integration are as follows:
Casteism
Casteism refers to loyalty to one own caste before the loyalty nation:
Discrimination based on caste is the major hurdle for national integration.
In India everything can change except ‘caste’, everything is organized on the line of caste.
Caste loyalty is looming large, different caste looks to the benefit of their own caste, in present times power of caste is concentrated in the hands of the dominant caste who develop the feeling of superiority or the low caste who faces exploitation.
The politicization of caste, various caste carry their vote banks with typical caste prejudice in politics and political party select candidate on the basis of caste moreover elected members use their privilege position for achieving interest in their own caste, in this way casteism is responsible for breaking the bonds of the unity among citizens.
Communalism
Communalism refers to extreme loyalty to one’s own religion. Religious fundamentalism and communal fanatism have created an atmosphere of hatred and violence. Communal conflicts create a sense of insecurity and loosen the bond of unity among the members of different religious groups.
Examples of communal violence have strong motivation based on religious identity, 1947 partition of India, 1990 Babari Masjid demolition, 1992 Mumbai riots, 2002 Godhra riot and Gujarat violence, etc. Communal conflicts weaken democracy and on the international front communal conflicts affect India’s image.
Regionalism
Regionalism is showing more loyalty to one on state or region before one’s nation. In India, the most important factors responsible for the growth of regionalism have been regional imbalance and regional disparity.
On many occasions, people promote regional interest even at the cost of national priorities, despite decades of plan development all regions in our country have not been developed in the desired manner.
Socio-economic development results in the demand for a new state e.g., separation of Telangana. Andhra Pradesh disputes over the distribution of water e.g., Tamil Nadu and Karnataka having a dispute over the Kaveri river. Other issues like the construction of dams and the supply of electricity.
Aggressive regionalism leads to separatism e.g., issues at Jammu and Kashmir. These challenges are a threat to national unity and hamper peace.
The two ways in which tribal and urban people can benefit each other in recent times are:
- Tribal people live in isolation away from the modern world, in recent times due to industrialization new modes of transport and communication have emerged. Due to urbanization, we see the mobility of the tribal population in an urban setting.
- Apart from employment opportunities, tribal exhibitions, tribal fairs or bazaar has given them the chance to improve their lives without any mediators.
- Tribal art and handicraft are most valuable today especially across 100 smart cities, these handicraft items, paintings (Warli) are purchased by urban consumers. Tribal organic products like medicinal herbs, honey, flowers, fruits, pulses are in great demand in the urban markets.
- On the other side industrialization has transformed tribal society for instance industrial development has taken place in tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, e.g., iron and steel plants, this has brought drastic changes in the socio-economic lives of tribal people.
- Here, we see both the community are advancing towards the integration of the population. Integration of tribals in the mainstream of national life has removed their backwardness and an identity that they are one among us.
- From the above statement, tribal and urban people are interdependent on each other for their survival and this brings unity among them.
