A Nation or a State is composed of certain elements. They are territory, population, government and sovereignty. The people of the State may follow one or more religions. For examples there are a number of religions in India – Hindustan, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism etc. still it is a secular State.
India has fifteen officially declared languages besides many dialects. It has also people belonging to Aryan race, Dravidian race and Mongolian race. It has in itself various types of cultures. It is an example of unity in diversity.
It is true that India is a unified country. It has a strong Union Government whose writ is obeyed in every corner of India. It is also true that after Independence, India became really strong and united after the merger of princely States into the Indian Union. After the reorganization of States on linguistic basis, some issues that were not anticipated earlier have arisen. Every State now thinks that its language is rich and it has a superior heritage than the others.
Similarly, those who belong to one religion feel that they should have a separate State of their own. Their ill-founded aspirations are now threatening the unity of the country. Based on these aspirations, terrorism has taken its roots. Government is now threatened with these undesirable protests and agitations. So the need has arisen to put down all these forces of separation. Government is aware of this need and has already taken and is taking the required steps in this direction.
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India has a long history. It has seen many conquerors and many onslaughts. Yet there are some inherent factors which have kept India united all these centuries. Indians, whatever type of dress they wear, are one in observing creation customs and traditions. They are all one in adopting a positive human approach. For centuries Indians have respected all religions and secularism is in their blood. Their songs, music, dance, art and literature cover all people and there are no borders or territories for them. There are festivals which are celebrated by Hindus as well as Muslims. It is not easy to destroy their unity. The people of our country have shown this fundamental unity during times of was with Pakistan and China.
As man is selfish, efforts are required to put an end to these disintegrating forces in the initial stage itself. It is possible to do so by molding the minds of the young in schools and colleges. Educating could easily act as an instrument to develop the spirit of unity by including lessons on unity in the curriculum. Cultural exchange programmers can also help this cause.
What is much more important and necessary is that all political parties, particularly regional parties, adopt a policy that national integration is of utmost importance. They should convince their followers that we should think of the Nation first and then of the States. They should also join together to put down terrorism in whatever shape it may appear. They should give priority to the interests of the country first and then consider their local interest. Then only it will be possible to promote the unity and integrity of our Nation, and enjoy the hard won freedom.