Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism…

Question

Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Unity in diversity remains India's defining feature because the Constitution, a syncretic culture and federal accommodation give every group a stake, though communalism and regionalism keep testing it. Linguistic states after 1956 and accords such as the Mizo Accord of 1986 turned regional demands into partnership with the Union.

**Introduction**

Census 2011 counted 121 languages with over 10,000 speakers each, and every major faith lives in India. That this plurality has held together as one democracy for over seven decades makes unity in diversity a lived reality, though one under strain.

**What Keeps India United in Its Diversity**

SKETCH: forcefield | Unity in Diversity
center: Unity in diversity
driving: Constitution, syncretic culture, shared economy, federal accommodation
restraining: Communalism, sons-of-soil politics, identity polarisation, misinformation

1. **Constitutional glue**: Minority rights under Articles 29 and 30 and the duty of common brotherhood under Article 51A(e) give every group a stake in the Union.
2. **Syncretic culture**: The Bhakti-Sufi tradition of Kabir and Nizamuddin Auliya, shared festivals and pilgrim circuits built a composite culture that no single group owns.
3. **Federal accommodation**: Linguistic states after 1956 and the Mizo Accord of 1986 turned regional demands into partnership, while migration and a single market bind citizens economically.

**How Communalism and Regionalism Strain It**

1. **Communal violence**: Riots from Gujarat (2002) to Delhi (2020), and lynchings that prompted the Supreme Court's Tehseen Poonawalla (2018) guidelines, show religion mobilised for politics.
2. **Regional chauvinism**: Attacks on migrant workers, the Cauvery dispute and the 2014 killing of Nido Taniam, which led to the Bezbaruah Committee, expose regional fault lines.
3. **Resilience shown**: Yet the DMK moved from secessionism to federal partnership, and no such strain has broken the Union.

**Conclusion**

Unity in diversity endures because the Constitution accommodates difference rather than erasing it. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (2015), the Kashi Tamil Sangamam (2022) and firm rule of law can keep it a unity of fraternity, not uniformity.

Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.

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