Are Casteism, Communalism, and Regionalism
Hampering India’s Development?
Introduction
- It is a general observation that countries that have political turmoil and social cleavages, and unrest due to them, face impediments in development.
- Casteism is an inclination wherein a person/ group considers their caste’s interests to be superior to the interests of their nation, state, etc. They are prejudiced against other caste groups.
- Communism on the other hand is an inclination wherein a person/group considers their community’s interests (religious community in India’s case) to be superior to the interests of their nation, state, etc. They are prejudiced against other communities.
- Finally, regionalism is an inclination wherein a person/group considers their region’s interests to be superior to the interests of their nation, state, etc. They are prejudiced against other states.
- It is important to understand what development entails. Development is a positive change in people’s living standards, health, and education outcomes, which is characterized by a greater freedom of being and of choice for people.
- Main argument of the essay: Though these tendencies are hampering India’s development, the slow rate of development cannot be attributed to regionalism, casteism, and communalism only. There are other factors at play, which should also be explored.
Body
- How casteism affects development:
- Casteism creates bias among people, leading them to give opportunities to people from certain castes, sidelining merit in the process. For examples, there are very few Dalit entrepreneurs in India.
- Although there is change, some professions are still identified with certain castes. This reduces the opportunities for personal and professional development, e.g. , the Valmiki community.
- Socio-cultural development is affected by casteism, as casteist people strictly mingle and develop relations with people from their castes only.
- Caste-related conflicts, strikes, and violence among communities directly affect businesses and cause destruction or halt day-to-day activities, which impact economic development, e.g. , Jat and Patidar agitations.
- How communalism affects development:
- Long legacy of communal conflicts in India, which have affected cultural exchange among people, also leading to loss of development opportunities, along with low socio-cultural development.
- Communal violence can seriously hamper economic and psychological well-being of affected families. It takes years to heal the scars caused by such violence, e.g. , the Godhra and Dharavi violence cases.
- It is generally the weaker sections of respective communities that bear most of the brunt of communal clashes, further hampering development.
- It is also argued that communalism can cause the minority community to get lesser educational, work, and business opportunities due to biased attitude in the society, e.g. , observations by the Sachar committee.
How regionalism affects development:
- If a region decides to avoid trade with another region, it can affect economic growth.
- Regionalism can also lead to violence and reduced opportunities for people. For instance, Shiv Sena’s regionalist stand against outsider workers in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai. Many outsiders would be disinterested in investing in or working in such places.
- Regional conflicts can cause loss of life and property, which in turn impacts the development of a country. For instance, the recent clashes between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Other factors to be considered:
- Development is a result of the national and local policies of the government; lack of it cannot just be blamed onto the social aspects discussed above.
- We can take advantage of regionalism to promote development by encouraging competitive spirit among different regions, so it does not have to be an impediment.
- It can be argued that corruption in India is a bigger impediment to development than the three factors discussed above, thus one may focus on discussing that.
- The argument of resource availability is also important. Any kind of conflict only arises when there is scarcity of resources. Although the intensity of casteism, communalism, and regionalism is reducing in India with globalization, instances of conflict arise where the resources are scarce. For instance, the Jat agitation for scarce employment opportunities and the interstate dispute due to water scarcity. Consequently, it can also be argued that the three phenomena discussed do not obstruct development, but lack of development gives rise to these phenomena even where there was no conflict issue originally.
Conclusion
- It is not possible to know the exact nature and extent of impact casteism, communalism, and regionalism have on development, as these are very dynamic and complex phenomena.
- However, it is clear that these aspects do impact India’s development to an extent, as a socially unstable country cannot hope to achieve holistic development. Therefore, we need to develop strategies to tackle these evils for a smoother development course.
- Having said that, it should also be acknowledged that other aspects such as political will, government policies, corruption, and resource endowment also have an impact on the development of a country, which is true in India’s case as well.
Notes
- Keywords: casteism, communalism, regionalism, development
- One must explore how each of these phenomena affect or do not affect development adequately.
- It is a very broad topic with multiple arguments possible; you should select the important ones and argue your case given the time limit.