Question

Briefly explain the factors that cause regionalism.

Answer 1

Language, caste and religion are the three main factors that lead to regionalism.

(A) Language:

1. When majority of people of a region speaks same language it becomes one of the reasons for regionalism.
2. For example, in India, majority of people residing in North India are Hindi speakers whereas those residing in South India are non-Hindi speakers.
3. So, non-Hindi speakers demand new regions according to the languages they speak.
4. The State Reorganisation Commission created separate states on the basis of language after independence.

(B) Caste and religion:

1. People belonging to a variety of religions live in India.
2. When people belonging to a specific religion are in majority in a region they tend to dominate that region. For example, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have different customs, traditions, lifestyle and profession.
3. Hence, people belonging to those regions have a different way of life compared to the people living in other parts of the country.
4. The Bodo people living in Assam have started strong movements for creating a separation from Assam. Similarly, ULFA is another separatist group of Assam which demands a sovereign Assam.
5. Regionalism led to the separation of Punjab and Haryana, Jharkhand from Bihar, Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh.
6. At present, Vidarbha region is demanding separation from Maharashtra.