Chapter - 6
Challenges of Cultural Diversity
️ Variety :-
The word diversity emphasizes differences rather than dissimilarities. When we say that India is a nation with great cultural diversity, we mean that many types of social groups and communities reside here.
️ Cultural Diversity in India :-
In Bharatam, we get to see many interesting and attractive differences in language, living-style, food, dress, custom, tradition, folk song, folklore, marriage system, life rites, art, music and dance in different regions.
The Indian nation state is one of the most socially and culturally diverse countries in the world. It is the second place in the world in terms of population.
More than one billion people here speak about 1632 different languages and dialects in total. 18 languages have been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
More than 80% of the population is of Hindus. Muslims constitute about 13.4% of the population. 2.3% Christians, 1.9% Sikhs, 0.8% Buddhists, 0.4% Jains.
It has been declared in the constitution that India will be a secular state.
Cultural diversity gives rise to communalism, casteism, regionalism, linguism etc. One community humiliates another community.
For example, there is a tussle over the distribution of river water, government jobs, grants. Discrimination on the basis of color eg - fair or black.
️ Community Identity :-
Our community provides us with language (mother tongue) and cultural values through which we understand the world. It also supports our self-identity.
Community identity is based on birth and belonging, and not on the basis of any achievement, it reflects the sense of 'what we are' and not what we have become.
️ Importance of Community Identity :-
It is probably because of this incidental, conditional or almost inevitable connection that we are often so emotionally attached to our community identity.
It is the ever-expanding and ever-widening range of community ties (family, kinship, caste, ethnicity, language, region or religion) that give meaning to our world and give us the identity of who we are.
Nation is easy to explain but why is it difficult to define?
A nation is a unique kind of community. It is easy to describe but difficult to define. We can describe many such special nations. Those established on the basis of common cultural, historical and political institutions such as common religion, language, history or regional culture.
For example, there are many nations which do not have a common or common language, religion, ethnicity etc. On the other hand there are many such languages, religions or ethnicities which are found in many nations. But this does not lead to the conclusion that together they form a unified nation. For example all English speaking people or all Buddhists.
Spiritualism and Unification Strategies: -
It tries to establish a single national identity like :-
- Concentrating all power in forums where the dominant group is the majority and eroding the autonomy of local or minority groups.
- Imposing a unified law and justice system based on the traditions of the dominant group and eliminating alternative systems used by other groups.
- Adopting the language of the dominant group as the only official 'national language' and making its use mandatory in all public institutions.
- Promoting the language and culture of the dominant group through national institutions, including state controlled, public relations and educational institutions.
- Adopting state symbols honoring the history, knights and culture of the influential group, naming the national festival, holiday or roads etc. to keep these things in mind.
- Declaring them as 'national resources' by snatching land, forest and fishing areas from minority groups and indigenous peoples.
️ Regionalism in the Indian context :-
Regionalism in India is found due to the diversity of India's languages, cultures, tribes and religions. Indian federalism is a means to accommodate these regional sentiments.
On what factors is regionalism based?
Regionalism is based on language like the old Bombay state was a multilingual state with people speaking Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada and Konkani. Madras State was made up of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam speaking people.
Regionalism is based on religion.
Regionalism was also based on tribal identity like in 2000 Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal were based on tribal identity.
️ Sociological meaning of minority :-
The group which is less in number in terms of religion, caste. Like- Sikh, Muslim, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist.
The notion of minority groups is widely used in sociology and has more importance than just a numerical feature – it usually carries some sense of discomfort or harm. Therefore, privileged minorities like extremely wealthy people cannot generally be called minorities.
Why should minorities be given constitutional protection?
Religious or cultural minorities require special protection due to the demographic dominance of the majority.
Religious and cultural minorities are politically weak, irrespective of their economic or social status, so they need protection.
The majority community will seize political power and abuse the monarchy to suppress their religious or cultural institutions and force them to give up their identity.
Important Articles in the Indian Constitution on Minorities and Cultural Diversity :-
Article 29 :-
Any section of citizens resident in the territory of India or any language thereof, having its own distinct language, script or culture, shall have the right to retain it.
No citizen shall be denied admission to any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Article 30 :-
All minorities based on religion or language will have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
In granting aid to educational institutions, the State shall not discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of any minority group based on religion or language.
️ Communalism :-
In everyday parlance, 'communalism' refers to aggressive extremism based on religious identity, itself an attitude that considers its own group to be the legitimate or superior group and the other group as inferior, illegal or antagonistic.
Communalism is an aggressive political ideology that is associated with religion. Communalism is concerned with politics and not with religion. Although communalism is closely associated with religion.
Communalism in India :-
Communal tensions spread again and again in India, which remains a matter of concern. There is looting, rape and killing of people, as happened with Sikhs in 1984 and Muslims of Gujarat in 2002, apart from this thousands of such riots have taken place. In which minorities have always suffered a great loss.
️ Secularism :-
According to the western view, it means keeping the church or religions separate from the state. Separation of religion from power has the status of a social history for Western countries.
Secularism in India :-
Secular state in the Indian context is that. Which does not favor any particular religion in comparison to other religions. Due to the Indian sentiment giving equal respect to all the religions of the state, a kind of difficult situation arises due to the tension between the two, every decision is taken keeping the religion in mind. For example, every religion festival is a government holiday.
️ Authoritarian State :-
An authoritarian state is the opposite of a democratic state.
In this the voice of the people is not heard. And those who have power are not responsible to anyone.
Authoritarian states often limit or eliminate many types of civil liberties such as freedom of language, freedom of the press, right to protection from abuse of power, the right to the required procedures of law.
️ History of authoritarian state in India :-
The Indian people had little experience of authoritarian rule during the Emergency which was in force from 1975 to 1977.
Parliament was suspended. Civil liberties were snatched away and politically active people were arrested in large numbers without trial.
Censor system was implemented on the media of mass communication.
The most infamous program was the sterilization campaign. People died from the problems caused by the surgery.
When elections were held in early 1977, people enthusiastically cast their votes against the ruling Congress party.
️ Civil Society :-
Civil society is defined as the broad scope that extends beyond the private sphere of the family, but is outside both the state and the market sphere.
There are voluntary organizations in civil society.
It is an area of active citizenship, where individuals come together to discuss social issues. For example, non-governmental organizations, political parties, media, trade unions etc.
️ Issues raised by civil society :-
- Battle of the land of the tribe.
- Environmental protection example.
- Fight for Standard Rights and Rights of Dalits (Issues).
- Transfer of city government.
- Campaign against violence and rape against women.
- Rehabilitation of people displaced due to construction of dams or other development projects.
- Campaign against slum removal and for housing rights.
- Primary education reforms.
- Distribution of land to Dalits.
- To keep an eye on the work of the state and to make it follow the law.
️ Right to Information Act 2005 :-
To compel the state to answer the people.
The Right to Information Act 2005 is a law enacted by the Indian Parliament, under which Indians (Jammu and Kashmir) have been given the right to access government records.
Any person can make a request for information from any “public authority” and that authority is expected to respond expeditiously i.e. within 30 days.
