UNIT - 3
CONCEPT OF DISPARITY PART– II
In the previous chapters we've understood Indian society to be pluralistic and diverse in nature. I.e. there exist several groups in India that hold different identities as Indian society is multi-regional, multi- lingual, multi-ethnic, multi- religious also as multi- cultural. Hence differences are bound to occur among these groups from time to time giving rise to conflict and strife. It’s this diverse nature of our country that's responsible for creating social and economic disparities among our people.
One of the most ancient civilizations, India has always been an apt example of the concept of diversity. A group of 28 states and seven union territories, each having varied characteristics in terms of language, culture, attire, customs and social practices the differences extend further to deities and sorts of worship, climate, geographical characteristics and historical backgrounds. Hence ‘diversity’ is to be understood as ‘difference’.
The true understanding of diversity however should be in a positive sense as an appreciation of differences. It recognizes the different backgrounds that individuals come from and draws from the influences to make stronger bonds and achieve what's best for the society as a whole. Unfortunately in India there are instances of those differences being exploited by groups with vested interests to push groupism and hatred resulting into social tension and riots the sensation of nationalism has been endangered and to preserve it, these differences got to be resolved peacefully.
In any society members always experience differences. But it's the disparities that result out of those differences, which create problems. There's always stratification on social, economic and other grounds. Value judgments are made about whether an individual belongs to a majority or a minority group based on the factors of gender, caste, religion, language, and domicile. Etc. People are treated with prejudice or discriminated against because they come from a particular place or background. For ex. The urban-rural divide has led to people in cities perceiving rural people as backward and furthermore, there are definite differences within the utilities and amenities available between cities and villages that are responsible for the various levels of their development.
Thus these disparities cause inequalities in opportunities, benefits and facilities that every member of a society should be ready to avail of rightfully. However over several years these disparities have become stark and reinforced the inequalities in our society. For ex The gap between the rich and poor has in fact increased economically. Therefore policymakers in India always have a tough job when it involves bridging this gap or solving the matter of interstate disparities.
A group plays a really important role in the development of an individual’s personality. a group is made when two or more people close as they'll possess some common characteristics, for Ex. They'll speak the same language or belong to the same community. While most groups come together out of a common purpose or goal, some groups get formed coincidentally.
Given that man is a social being who cannot do without interaction and communication together with his fellow individuals, it's only natural that an individual belongs to several groups at any given time. Thus formations of groups makes man realize not only his full potential but also achieve what's best for everybody and this results in development of society.
While some groups work towards improvement and positive change for all, others engage in destructive activities. When there are many groups, they'll have conflicting interests. It’s when these groups attain extreme positions and are willing to sacrifice common and national good for fulfilling their own selfish interests that it culminates into social chaos. Such imbalances cause violence and aggression for ex Communal tension, linguistic riots, regional strife and even terrorist activities
To mention a few causative factors for intergroup conflicts, there are the stereotypes where an individual is slotted as belonging to a particular category about which there are fixed perceptions and mistaken ideas. For ex. An urban dweller may look at an individual coming from rural areas as lacking in education and sophistication. a religious person is also sceptical about ideas and practices of individuals belonging to other religions. Also one often distinguishes between ‘in-groups’ (‘my friends’, ‘my family’, ‘my country’) and therefore the ‘out-groups’ (‘his friends’, ‘their family’). It’s when these feelings are motivated and encouraged aggressively that it affects the harmony of society. Furthermore groups, as a whole, may suffer from superiority or complex and be made intensively aware of inequalities through discrimination. For ex. Certain positions during a business organization is also held by male candidates only. There can also be differences in political and philosophical leanings of an individual. Some or all of those become reasons for inter-group conflicts.
Having understood the idea of concept of inter-group conflicts and factors that cause these conflicts, allow us to list out the four main inter-group conflicts in Indian society The important problems experienced in India are within the areas of ;
1. Communalism
2. Casteism
3. Linguism
4. Regionalism
These major inter-group conflicts are explained briefly as follows:
Meaning: - India is a secular nation where several religions co-exist and therefore the Constitution asks every citizen to be tolerant of other religions. However despite the provisions of the Indian Constitution to guard the interests of individuals belonging to all religions, communalism has often endangered peace and harmony of our country in several instances within the past.
Communalism actually stems from religious fundamentalism that creates one believe that one’s own religion is that the only true faith. Communalism itself is the ideology of a social, political or a religious group that their religion and practices are superior to that of other groups. Religion is a personal and sensitive issue for many people. Therefore any hint of antagonism or a sign of disrespect towards one’s religion immediately triggers hatred and violence. Communalism is divisive therein it stresses the significance of 1 religion over the others. While effectively the preaching and values of all religions don't differ, it's the conflict of interests and desire for dominance that provokes hostility.
It has also been observed on various occasions that religious leaders arouse fanatic behaviour among followers through fundamentalist speeches and political leaders do the same to make sure themselves of a vote bank for attaining power.
Historically communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims have occurred regularly. The seeds of this conflict dwell the Partition and formation of Pakistan. A case in point is that the Ram Mandir – Babri- Masjid issue that was responsible for violent communal clashes across the nation and resulted in loss of innocent lives and property. Religious fundamentalism and fanaticism have left such wounds on the psyche of the people that it's led to putting together of stereotypes. Muslims are viewed suspiciously and often experience difficulties in assimilation. The New York Twin-Tower terror event has brought in its wake other issues like racism at airports which is creating a greater sense of alienation in the Islamic community.
Communal conflicts between Hindus and Sikhs, Hindus and Christians or maybe Muslims and Christians are observed but sparingly. In recent times communal strife has also spread to rural areas of the country implying prejudices can exist anywhere.
Causes:
The roots of communalism are found in the ‘Divide and Rule ‘ Policy of British rule in India. British in order to determine their supremacy in it’s colonies and expand it’s power used divisive tactics of turning Hindu and Muslim rulers against one another .They also encouraged the forming of communal organisations having extremist religious tendencies.
1. Vested political interests:
Certain politicians or political parties so as to further their own gains give indirect support or patronage to communal groups or activities. a number of them may have non-secular tendencies themselves and make political decisions partially encouraging communalism.
2. Flexibility in religion’s civil code:
There is an absence of a uniform civil code. To assure itself of votes and return to power the govt. Affords special provisions to certain religious communities to follow their own code while other smaller communities aren't allowed the liberty to follow their own personal laws and should feel discriminated against.
3. Rise of communal organisations:
Communal organizations established on the pretext of propagating and promoting religion socially through cultural activities have instead worsened the matter of communal politics. SIMI, RSS, Bajrang Dal .etc. have been found to instigate communal violence
4. Religious fundamentalism:
Some religious leaders followed ardently by herds of devotees use their influence through inflammatory speeches to misguide the masses. Especially the ignorant masses get trapped in religious fervour and are willing to act violently.
5. Conversions:
Religious conversions are a sensitive issue in India. It’s often undertaken by religious organizations on the promise of food , sheltered to the poor and viewed suspiciously by everyone.
6. Politicization of local problems:
Local issues or problems involving different communities, which may be resolved by the local authorities, are sometimes magnified and given political dimensions to arouse communalistic passions and sometimes cause riots. Ex. Malegaon and Bhiwandi
7. Law and Order:
The administration may fail to take care of minor communal disputes that would flare up into a serious clash. There could also be several anti-social elements who in the name of religion may engage in nefarious activities like drug-peddling, smuggling , trafficking, robberies, murder then on. Their activities got to be curbed and they got to be brought to book to keep up social balance.
8. External threats:
There exist many foreign forces which train extremists and provide them with modern weapons to undertake terrorist activities to fuel communal unrest within the nation.
Consequences:
The consequences of communalism would be grave and will destroy the social fabric of society;
1. Communalism results in hatred and aggression against others.
2. It creates prejudices and builds stereotypes about certain communities.
3. It encourages hostility and provokes violent behaviour causing clashes and riots.
4. It doesn't extract the maximum potential out of each individual of every community from society.
5. Riots result in disruption of economic and social activities and affects the smooth functioning of companies.
6. It tarnishes the image of the country affecting the country’s international trade, investments and other interests.
7. It hinders the target of social harmony, national unity and security.
8. It alienates and isolates members of certain communities making the atmosphere suspicious and difficult.
Measures to regulate Communalism:
Following are some significant steps which will be taken to regulate communalism;
1. Role of Law and order Administration:
The police have a vital role to play in intercepting and diffusing communal riots and flare-ups before it assumes huge proportions. They ought to act responsibly to combat violence and work with the cooperation of peace committees and members of conflicting communities to resolve tension.
2. Role of Education:
The curricula should be barren of any communal content and partial views about particular religions. It should actually teach secular principles, appreciation and respect for all religions. Schools and better educational institutions should use various teaching aids promoting national values and communal harmony. Teachers should be trained to motivate students to conduct community programmes with involvement from their parents, neighbours et al. To market secularism, nationalism, cooperation and tolerance.
3. Role of religious Leaders:
Religious leaders have a crucial role to play as their preaching is followed by the masses. People believe to their leaders and hence these leaders should teach the importance of communal harmony through their discourses.
4. Role of Media:
The media should act responsibly and avoid delivering news in a manner which will further encourage violence. Instead the media should identify and expose communal elements. It should create a forum for discussion where information about the ill effects of communal activities is disseminated.
5. Role of NGOs:
NGOs should choose large-scale publicity campaigns in media promoting communal harmony and national unity. They must draw public concentrate on more pressing national problems and educate people about the ill consequences of riots and destruction supported religious intolerance.
6. Ban on communal political parties:
The political parties having any direct or indirect connections with communal forces should be derecognized by the govt. They should not be allowed to play with the religious sentiments of the general public and exploit them for their political gains. This can help reinforce harmony among various communities.
7. Public Awareness:
Public awareness must be raised about the harmful impact of communalism. Our constitution, which labels India as a secular nation makes provisions to guard the interests of all religions and goes beyond the code of any religion. Hence one must learn to put national interests above one’s religious views.
8. Security:
All communities must be treated equally. The people belonging to smaller communities shouldn't feel isolated. Instead confidence should be instilled in them so that they feel safe and secure to uninhibitedly partake in the growth of the state.
Meaning: - The most oppressive system, the caste system plays a very important role in Indian society. It’s a unique system that has initiated stratification in Indian society. All the religions in India have their own caste differences. For .ex. Hinduism is split into thousands of castes and sub-castes which find their origin within the Varna system of the traditional Rigveda. The Varna system classifies Hindus into four main castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The foremost atrocious practice of the caste system was untouchability which though hardly found in urban areas, still exists in rural areas.
The caste system as followed in India is rigid and does not allow inter-caste marriage. The upper caste looks down upon the lower castes and this differentiation leads to hatred and violence.
In India there's excessive politicization of the caste system. Organizations and political parties have formed to extract economic and social gains for themselves and therefore the castes they support. Northern states have experienced caste related violence from time to time. Politicians in U.P., Maharashtra, and Karnataka have played the caste card regularly to come back to power.
The reservation policy accepted by the V.P.Singh government has brought in its wake plenty of social unrest. There are anti-reservation movements led by doctors and students in recent years that feel the policy has worked against their interests. The govt. So as to uplift the backward castes, offers free education, reservation of jobs within the public sector, seats within the Parliament and also seats within the higher educational institutions teaching professional courses. However over the years the system has been exploited by those that are powerful and rich instead of benefitting the truly marginalized sections of society.
Consequences:
1. Casteism violates the basic right to equality also because the democratic principles of our constitution.
2. It's actually a sort of communalism that makes disharmony and results in conflicts and violence.
3. It gives rise to increased corruption in politics. Selfish politicians with vested interests get voted into the parliament on false promises of promoting their loyalties to their castes.
4. Casteism is liable for promoting groupism and importance of certain castes over national interests.
5. Casteism has intensified the majority-minority caste divide. The upper caste especially in villages still enjoys certain entitlements and privileges whereas the lower caste remains discriminated against.
6. The social status and education of the backward castes remains a problem because of the narrow-minded approach of the upper castes.
7. Many members of the backward castes migrate to cities to flee the shackles of the inhumane caste system in villages but find yourself suffering for lack of opportunities.
8. There are several instances of ill treatment administered to lower castes : marginal farmers being denied loans by upper caste loan officials, molestation and gang-rape of girls , exploitation of children and social boycotting.
Measures to regulate casteism:
While the caste system has become an integral a part of the Indian society originating in ancient mythology, keep with the modern era a scientific approach should be taken in understanding the relevance of this method today.
1. Casteism similar to communalism is an obstacle in achieving national good and hence awareness must be raised among people about it’s peril. One should promote the notions of secularism and nationalism as principle above casteism.
2. Both print and electronic media should conduct programmes and arrange for discussions among scholars widely emphasizing the divisive influence of casteism on society.
3. Scholars from different castes should enable better understanding among the masses about the concept of reservation as a positive discrimination for creating equality in opportunities for the downtrodden that are oppressed for hundreds of years .
4. Policymakers must work towards a more equitable distribution of wealth to beat economic disparities among castes.
5. Inter caste-marriages and increased social interactions among people of various caste should be encouraged and accepted. The youth can take the responsibility to boost social awareness about how a well-assimilated society is a better off society.
6. Casteist forces adhered to political parties or the other groups fuelling tension should be identified and banned immediately.
7. The scars left on the hitherto ‘untouchables’ or backward castes can only be healed with humane and compassionate treatment being administered .
8. Access to a well-rounded education and equal entitlement to all the basic rights so also cultural development are the sole way to give social justice to members of the lower castes.
The caste system must be gradually phased out for the creation of a more equal and just society but serves far too many vested interests in our country to be removed completely.
As we've already seen earlier, India is a multi-lingual country. It’s a nation of 28 states and seven union territories where as many as 1652 languages are spoken and of those 18 languages are recognized as official languages within the 8th schedule of the Constitution. The states in India were created supported linguistic barriers and hence an integral a part of the state’s identity.
The First Official Language Commission was appointed by the govt. Of India under the chairmanship of Mr. B.G.Kher on 7th June 1955. On its recommendation English, the principal official language, was to get replaced by Hindi, the subsidiary official language after 1965. However when the Commission’s report was published in 1958, it created disappointment and unrest among the southern states of the country. They were against Hindi being imposed on them because the official language and preferred the use of English. To contain possible outbreak of riots, the then Prime minister Pa ndit. J. Nehru pacified the angered states in the Lok Sabha saying Hindi wouldn't be imposed on the non-Hindi speaking states and that English would continue to be an associate language for an indefinite period.
Later when the Official Language Bill was passed within the Parliament in1963 and Hindi adopted because the principal official language of the union in 1965, anti- Hindi riots erupted in South India and W. Bengal against the Hindi speaking the agitation became strong with Tamil Nadu posing for statehood and several of those states threatening withdrawal of political support to the Congress within the Parliament. Finally to regulate things from going out of hand, the Central Government agreed to reform the Act and made a statutory guarantee to the non- Hindi speaking states that English wouldn't get replaced by Hindi for any official purposes.
However as a reaction to this move, anti-English riots broke call at Delhi and other parts of North India and turned violent against English speaking. It spurred retaliation within the south. Besides the Hindi vs. English riots, other states have also experienced linguistic conflicts. For ex. U.P., Maharashtra had disputes with Goa and Belgaum. Goa wished to assume two official languages .viz. Konkani and Marathi, whereas the Belgaum Municipal Corporation clashed with the Karnataka government when it wanted to adopt Marathi and not Kannada as its official state language.
Methods to resolve linguistic conflicts:
As of today the Union of India has adopted a Bi-lingual policy, where English and Hindi are both adopted by the govt. For official purposes and for use in Parliament. The Official Language Amendment Act 1968 has made provisions to regulate linguistic riots in the future.
The Act allows optional use of Hindi or the State Official Language additionally to English.
1. States, which haven't adopted Hindi as their official language, can continue with the utilization of English for communication between the Union and therefore the State. Between States where either State might not accept Hindi, any communication has to be accompanied with its translation in English.
2. States may adopt their regional language as their official language and use it as a medium of instruction in education. Candidates appearing for competitive examinations of the U.P.S.C. Are given the freedom to write down in their own regional language.
3. Efforts are taken to push use of Hindi among non-Hindi speaking people.
Meaning:-There are various aspects that unite the people living in a particular region. a region is characterized by a standard language, culture, demographic composition, geographical features, social, historical and political backgrounds. Hence an individual tends to be very loyal to a distinct region over to the country. Regionalism implies excessive loyalty to one’s region or state that tends to pose a danger to national unity. There are differences between the natural resources, endowments and even the amount of development of varied regions. These inequalities are literally intensified by politicians who for their vested interests have directed resources for development of certain states and not others. Within states certain regions are favoured while others are neglected. These regional imbalances fuelled by political motivations are accountable for regional conflicts in India.
Regional conflicts have assumed extreme forms from time to time whether it's the demand for autonomy, river disputes or boundary disputes;
• Separatist agitations – The Kashmir debate has been raging for several decades now. The people of Kashmir always live in a state of fear as internal fundamentalist threats and cross border terrorism seems to own become a daily reality for them. Telangana’s demands in Andhra Pradesh, anti- Hindi stance also as demand for statehood by Tamil Nadu have done irreparable damage to the national identity. Jharkhand , Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal were states created due to the inter-state disparities.
• Inter-state river water disputes – the Cauvery and Krishna river water issue between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have led to bloodshed within the recent past. Punjab and Haryana have clashed over the difficulty of Ravi- Beas waters.
• Border disputes - For ex. Belgaum which lies on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra features a large Marathi speaking population and was caught during a linguistic conflict with Karnataka.
Causes:
The causes of regional disputes basically dwell the interstate disparities and are briefly explained as follows:
1. There are interstate disparities in the per capita incomes of varied states. Certain states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat enjoy higher levels of Per Capita Income while the BIMARU states i.e. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa have low levels of PCI. The gap in purchasing power creates discontent.
2. There are disparities in degree of urbanization of states. a better level of urbanization implies higher industrial development and thus greater economic, social and political progress.
3. Disparities in Agricultural production caused by erratic rainfall in some and heavy monsoons also as sufficient irrigation facilities in other regions imply a large gap in their annual produce and hence farmers in Punjab are richer to those in Rajasthan.
4. The industrial growth across states differs widely resulting in better employment opportunities and greater economic progress of certain states over others.
5. The cities and townships in developed states have far more and sophisticated infrastructural facilities compared to states lagging in development.
6. The states with an upscale historical background may look down upon other state which tends to stir regional conflicts. Furthermore there are prejudices and stereotypes that increase the interstate divide.
MEASURES TO CURB REGIONALISM:
1. Efforts should be made by the Central and State governments to push national unity and solidarity.
2. States should be willing to cooperate with one another to resolve their disputes in the larger interest of the state. Cultural, Sports and literary exchanges between states should be encouraged to foster regional cooperation.
3. Fiscal and other incentives must tend to industrialists and businesses for fixing their plants and operations in backward areas to further their development. Ex. Subsidies and tax exemptions
4. Special Area Development programmes should be undertaken in tribal, hilly and desert regions for his or her growth.
5. There should be coordinated planning between the Centre and states for fair allocation of funds for regional development. There should be just and equitable distribution of natural resources.
