POLITICS OF SEPARATISM

“By far the greater part of violence that humans have inflicted on each other is not the work of criminals or the mentally deranged, but of normal, respectable citizens in the service of the collective ego.”

--Eckhart Tolle

Though we proudly refer India as a country with ‘Unity in Diversity’, is it so? I doubt it….. The nation is seriously facing separatist movements in different parts. People in different parts of the country are facing identity crisis. I feel the major cause for this separatist movement is religious identity, regional identity, ethnicity, exploitation, mal- governance and ideological. Apart from this illiteracy, poverty, and lack of economic opportunities also has become another cause of separatist movement in the recent past.

Existence of any nation depends on homogeneity of its population, irrespective of caste, religion or region. Unfortunately, our country is not ‘united in diversity’; the reason is we never had a government with strong political will to keep the nation unified since independence. From 1947 onwards, the successive governments practiced the policy of ‘divide and rule’, which our political emperors learned from the imperial rulers.

Nehruvian secularism as a political philosophy has lost its credibility. It has proven as a national motivating force and as moral framework, judging by the many forms of corruptions at various levels. It has proven unable to create a secular national unity. There are Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Dalit, Dravidian and communist’s separatist’s movements who carry on armed struggle against the Indian secular republic. The one thing that all these separatist movements without exception have in common at the ideological level is their hatred to Hinduism. We have to give it a serious thought, because religious intolerance is a not going to be beneficial for a secular nation. We have to accommodate ourselves in religious harmony for a peaceful living.

India is fast emerging as a major regional and global power. The socio-political stability of India is thus directly relevant to India’s national interest. Movements for separate statehood will weaken the nation’s stability, well being and development direction.  The separatist movements are increasing in India. Currently 67 separatist movements are working in India. Almost all 28 states (can add one more to the list) of India are suffering from small and big separatist movements. How India manages its diversity and meets the challenges posed by separatism will determine the future of the nation and its citizens.