NCERT Textbook - Regional Aspiration, Politics in India Since Independence - UPSC PDF Download

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In this chapter…
In the first chapter of this book we studied the 
process of ‘nation-building’ in the first decade 
after Independence. But nation-building is 
not something that can be accomplished 
once and for all times to come. In the course 
of time new challenges came up. Some of the 
old problems had never been fully resolved. 
As democratic experiment unfolded, people 
from different regions began to express 
their aspirations for autonomy. Sometimes 
these aspirations were expressed outside 
the framework of the Indian union. These 
involved long struggles and often aggressive 
and armed assertions by the people. 
This new challenge came to the fore in the 
1980s, as the Janata experiment came to an 
end and there was some political stability at 
the centre. This decade will be remembered 
for some major conflicts and accords in the 
various regions of the country, especially 
in Assam, the Punjab, Mizoram and the 
developments in Jammu and Kashmir. In 
this chapter we study these cases so as to 
ask some general questions.
? Which factors contribute to the tensions 
arising out of regional aspirations? 
? How has the Indian state responded to 
these tensions and challenges?
? What kind of difficulties are faced in 
balancing democratic rights and national 
unity?
? What are the lessons here for achieving 
unity with diversity in a democracy?
Regional aspirations 
are usually expressed 
in the language of the 
region and addressed 
to the local population 
or the rulers. This 
unusual poster from 
Uttarakhand movement 
appeals to all the 
Indian citizens in seven 
different languages 
and thus underscores 
the compatibility of the 
regional aspirations with 
nationalist sentiments.