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National
Integration
in India
Meaning, UPSC Modern History Notes
Challenges,
Factors
affecting
National
Integration
• A nation is a country with a unified socio-economic and political structure. It denotes a body of
people who have a feeling of oneness, built on the basis of common history, society, culture and
values. This feeling of oneness binds the people together into a nation.
• India is a nation having great diversities. The people who inhabit this nation belong to different
races, communities and castes. They reside in different geographical regions and speak
different languages. They believe in and practice different religions and have varied lifestyles.
But with all these diversities, they all are Indians and they feel like that.
• National integration is the awareness of a common identity amongst the citizens of a country. It
means that though the individuals belong to different communities, castes, religions, cultures
and regions and speak different languages, all of them recognize the fact that they are one. This
kind of integration is very important in the building of a strong and prosperous nation.

To understand more about the National Integration has always been very important from the point of view
of the IAS Exam.

Meaning
• Nation: It denotes a body of people who have a feeling of oneness, built on the basis of
common history, society, culture and values.
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• Integration: Togetherness.
• National integration: is the awareness of a common identity amongst the citizens of a country.

National movement and National Integration

• India in the ancient time was divided into large number of princely states.
• It was only during the British rule and the national freedom movement that the feeling of nation
rose among people.
• During the national movements people belonging to different religions, cultures and
communities joined to drive out British from India.
• The national movements focused on equality, liberty, secularism and socio-economic
development which became objectives a new nation formed.

You might like to read: Rani Lakshmi Bai Rani of Jhansi

Middle-class, intellectual, and working-class contributions

in National Integration:
• The middle class, for example, is a highly mobile group that frequently moves across states for
business, school, or job opportunities.
• People from many ethnic and regional backgrounds have settled in cities including as Delhi,
Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Calcutta, among others.
• This segment of the middle class may easily relate to the concept of India.
• People from all over India congregate in Mumbai, many of whom have migrated there in pursuit
of better prospects.
• People moving from smaller communities to larger cities encounter a variety of challenges, one
of which is being classified as "outsiders."
• Their will to stay and overcome the obstacles, on the other hand, reflects their faith in the
concept of India.
• The same may be said about the working class. Similarly, intellectuals, by their very nature as
liberals, do not confine themselves to caste, class, religion, or geographical location.
• They oppose the concept of conflicting values and instead work for mankind's and humanity's
communal upliftment.
• We can identify countless examples of the entire intellectual community coming forth for
arbitrary state acts against the creative expression of individuals irrespective of caste, creed,
religion, or location since the growth of knowledge of rights and oneness.
• Within a unified India, this creates room for many expressions.

Role of Education in ensuring National Integration:

• Education is important because it alters our views and ideas.
• Fortunately, both before and after independence, India had excellent educationalists.
• School teachers have a significant impact on the minds of the country's young kids.
• Over the years, historical figures like Rani Laxmi Bai and Lal Bahadur Shastri, as well as iconic
slogans like 'Inquilab Zindabad,' have infiltrated our collective psyche.
• The NCERT syllabus, which was created with the support of famous scholars, has also played a
significant role in creating India's identity.
• Furthermore, students frequently relocate to different parts of the country to pursue further
education at various universities.
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• This has aided young brains in thinking beyond their geographical locations, castes, and
religious affiliations.
• Universities around the country, such as Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Osmania
University, to mention a few, recruit students from all over the country, who develop a pan-
Indian mindset that transcends cultural and ethnic boundaries in a short period of time.
• Unfortunately, our student enrollments in higher education institutions are still quite low, with just
12-13 percent of our population having access to higher education, compared to 87 percent in
the United States, more than 50 percent in Europe, and around 25 percent in China.
• As a result, one might hope that, in the not-too-distant future, with the establishment of private
universities and government efforts, higher education will become not only more accessible, but
also more popular.
• People from various cultural groups, as well as marginalized groups such as minorities, women,
tribal groups, and others who were previously alienated from the national mainstream, have
gradually aligned themselves with the mainstream, thanks in large part to the efforts of an
inclusive education system.
• "Right education open to everybody is arguably the primary solution for most of our maladies,"
said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

National integration and Indian Constitution:

• Independence brought a great challenge of partition which led to communal violence.
• There were also issues related to integration of princely states that generated problems for the
unity of the country.
• The constitution of India and its preamble lays down unity and integrity of nation as the major
objective.
• It also enlists fundamental duties to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
• The provision of a centralised federation ensures unity of nation with respect for diversity of the
country.

Provisions under Fundamental duties include:

• To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions such as the national flag and
the national anthem.
• To value and preserve the rich heritage of our culture.
• To safeguard public property.
• To defend the country and render national service.
• To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood.
• To strive towards excellence and collective activity to reach a higher level of achievement for
the nation.

Challenges to National Integration

Communalism

• When individuals belonging to one religion develop more affinity towards their religion and
hatred for others, such a problem of communalism generates.
• With India having a wide range of religions being practiced, communal riots and communalism
always imparts threat to the national integrity.
• Such examples of communalism were also seen during independence.

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Know more about Rise of Gandhi in Indian Freedom Struggle here.

Regionalism

• Regional movements which led to creation of new states by dividing the existing ones cause
threat to national integrity.
• Aggressive regionalism leads to separatism where regionalism ignores national interests.

Linguism

• India being secular does not favour any particular language.

• Earlier movements for creation of new states were based on linguistic similarities.
• The bill to propose Hindi as an official language received widespread protest in all non- Hindi
speaking regions.

Extremism

• The movements such as naxalite on Maoist movement create fear among the public and cause
loss of government personnel and public property.
• Many youth participate in such movements due to political marginalization and exploitation.
• Such people cause threat to law and order and also to national integration.

Also, Check: NCERT notes on Revolutionary Movements in India

Factors affecting National Integration

Constitutional provisions

• Indian Constitution has provisions for promoting and ensuring national integration by adopting
socialism, secularism, democracy, liberty, equality, justice and fraternity as its objectives.
• Fundamental duties prescribed for the citizens also promote national integration.
• Directive principles of State policy direct the state for the promotion of equitable economic
development elimination of social discrimination and promotion of international peace and
security.
• These provisions altogether generate a sense of national integration.

Government initiatives

• The National Integration Council set up by the government deals with issues related to National
Integration and recommends suitable measures for them.
• The Planning Commission at the centre looks for economic development for the entire country
and a single election Commission conducts the election.

National festivals and symbols

• National festivals also help in unifying the nation as they are celebrated by all Indians in all parts
of the country regardless of language, religion or culture.
• National symbols like the national flag, national anthem and national emblem remind us of one
identity and act as a unifying force in times of celebration and adversity.

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Check out NCERT notes on Bal Gangadhar Tilak here.

Other factors

• Unified judicial system and all India services promote unity and integrity of Indian nation.
• The central government is responsible for policy and decision making for the entire country.
• Presence of all India services for recruiting members for the positions of IAS, IFS, IPS and
others.

In a country like India, where variety abounds in many sectors of life, national integration is critical to
enhancing harmony among all parts of society. National integration strives to unite all of these disparate
ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic groups into a single nation with a common identity.

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