National Integration
National Integration: A myth or reality
The integrity of any nation invariably depends on the integrity of its citizens. After all, it is the individuals who constitute society or a nation. Society or nation minus individuals is nothing. The individual is a reality; whereas the society is a myth. The society exists because of individuals. Therefore, the integration of a nation is only a mere manifestation of the integrity of the individual. The more one is integrated and undivided, the more the society is integrated and undivided. So the individual is the pillar on whom the whole edifice of a nation stands. It is in this sense the national integration is more a myth than a reality, more a dream than a fact, more a conceived concept by demagogues than an existing reality. India is under severe strain. She is passing through many a crisis. The crisis of India is the crisis of her citizens. It is the crisis of the inner and not the outer.
"India is a land of unity in diversity" says Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Since the ancient times people belonging to different communities, religions and cultural groups have been living in this abode of sages and gods in perfect harmony. India was one country, strong and united during the reigns of Ashoka and Akbar. Though there was not much of political unity, there was cultural and emotional unity in the country. Outwardly, India was politically united during the British regime, but the clever British rulers practiced the theory of divide and rule. They created disunity among the people belonging to different communities and provinces. They promoted fissiparous and separatist tendencies among people and sowed the seeds of communal dissensions and animosity between Hindus and Muslims, which flourished in the form of the partition of India and the blood-bath on the heels of partition in 1947. Thus, it is also a lesson of our history that fissiparous forces have time and again raised their bead to disrupt our unity and to weaken our
The integrity of any nation invariably depends on the integrity of its citizens. After all, it is the individuals who constitute society or a nation. Society or nation minus individuals is nothing. The individual is a reality; whereas the society is a myth. The society exists because of individuals. Therefore, the integration of a nation is only a mere manifestation of the integrity of the individual. The more one is integrated and undivided, the more the society is integrated and undivided. So the individual is the pillar on whom the whole edifice of a nation stands. It is in this sense the national integration is more a myth than a reality, more a dream than a fact, more a conceived concept by demagogues than an existing reality. India is under severe strain. She is passing through many a crisis. The crisis of India is the crisis of her citizens. It is the crisis of the inner and not the outer.
"India is a land of unity in diversity" says Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Since the ancient times people belonging to different communities, religions and cultural groups have been living in this abode of sages and gods in perfect harmony. India was one country, strong and united during the reigns of Ashoka and Akbar. Though there was not much of political unity, there was cultural and emotional unity in the country. Outwardly, India was politically united during the British regime, but the clever British rulers practiced the theory of divide and rule. They created disunity among the people belonging to different communities and provinces. They promoted fissiparous and separatist tendencies among people and sowed the seeds of communal dissensions and animosity between Hindus and Muslims, which flourished in the form of the partition of India and the blood-bath on the heels of partition in 1947. Thus, it is also a lesson of our history that fissiparous forces have time and again raised their bead to disrupt our unity and to weaken our