P.C. Alexander

Feb.10 : Demonstrations in public places to protest against certain decisions or policies of the government, or against individuals for some opinions expressed by them, have become common in our country in recent years.

No one can question the right of political parties or groups of people to protest, provided protests are held in non-prohibited areas and during specific times prescribed by the government. However, the most important consideration to be borne in mind by those who wish to stage such demonstrations is that these should be peaceful and not violative of the rights of other political parties, groups or individuals. Unfortunately, the trend in recent times in several parts of the country has been for the protesters to resort to violence and attempt to deprive other peace-loving citizens of their rights guaranteed by the Constitution. There has also been a tendency on the part of those who wish to register their protests to do so using undignified language and those at the receiving end to counter-attack in equally abusive language. This has lowered the dignity of political controversies even at the level of very senior leaders. The use of the B-word by a former chief minister against a present chief minister very recently is an example of the levels to which political debate has sunk in our country. Those who use abusive language and reply in equally offensive manner often forget that such behaviour will only cause revulsion among the common people and prove to be counter-productive.Another unfortunate tendency of political parties is to accuse each other of the crime of weakening national integration and unity by their actions or words.  By bringing in the issue of damaging national integration into their quarrels, they are, in fact, creating in the minds of ordinary people doubts and misgivings about the strength of India’s national integration. This is a great disservice to the nation because the fact is that India’s record of national integration and unity is one of the best among all countries which have acquired sovereignty in recent years.Given the current situation, it would be appropriate to recall the several handicaps which the country had to overcome in order to achieve the present level of national integration. The first and most serious handicap to national integration was communalism, a legacy India inherited from its colonial rulers. The British rulers had realised after their bitter experience of the great rebellion of 1857 that they could not retain their hold over India unless they succeeded in pitting its two major communities — Hindus and Muslims — against each other. Everyone knows that the award of separate electorates to Muslims in 1909 was the most dangerous and divisive measure taken by the Britishers to create a gulf between the two communities and that it was this which eventually led to Partition in 1947 and the holocaust that accompanied it. After Independence, the nation was able to achieve national cohesion to a significant degree with the help of an imaginative Constitution written by the founding fathers of our republic. They tried to reduce the destructive impact of communalism. However, caste and sub-caste loyalties emerged as a potent source of danger to national integration when people gained the right to elect their representatives to seats of power. During the early years of Independence, electoral politics was still not seriously vitiated by the caste factor because of strong political leadership at the Central level and in the states. But with the decline of national parties and the dearth of strong leadership, caste emerged as a major factor in electoral politics. The dominant role of caste led to the proliferation of small political parties. National parties found that they could form governments at the Centre and in the states only if they entered into coalition arrangements with some state-level parties. Fortunately, most of the small regional parties were committed to national integration and unity and, therefore, the harm that could have been caused by the caste factor and the multiplicity of parties was contained.Another important factor which contributed to the success of national integration was the strength of India’s civilisational identity for thousands of years before Independence. In spite of diversity in religion, language, race and subcultures, its people shared certain common values, ethics and traditions of family and social life and this made the task of national integration easier. There were several countries with civilisations of their own before they gained national sovereignty. However, many of these civilisations collapsed under the weight of colonial rule and building a strong national identity after gaining independence  proved to be  difficult for them.   India could develop a strong national identity because it had wisely adopted the concept of “unity in diversity”. Unity in diversity did not mean that diversity took precedence over unity; nor did it mean that unity in every sphere of activity was necessary for stability. It only meant that diversity in religion, language, race, etc. would not be an impediment to national unity. Recognition of the reality of such diversities facilitated national integration and in spite of shortfalls in several segments of development, weakness in national integration was never a handicap for overall progress. Doctrines like preference for “sons of the soil” have been propounded by individual leaders or political parties on various occasions, but people’s commitment to national integration and unity has always been stronger. While remaining proud  of this achievement, people should also be conscious of the urgency and need for appropriate measures to further strengthen the vibrancy of national integration.Two measures deserve special mention in the present context. One is strengthening the democratic content in the structure, ideologies and practices of India’s political parties and making them effective tools for good governance rather than only as a means to acquiring power. The second is using our education system, right from school years, to inculcate among the youth the importance of national integration based on the moral and ethical values of our civilisational heritage. Both these subjects have been discussed often at several platforms and in the media, but we have to admit that while there is general acceptance of their importance, very little has been done to implement them earnestly. P.C. Alexander is a former governor of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra

P.C. Alexander