GS Paper - I Model Answers (2020) - 1 | UPSC Mains Answer Writing: Practice PDF Download

Q1: The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss. (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: Rock cut architecture occupies a central place in Indian architecture. It gives information about life and times of people and helps us understand their society through their perspective.
Rock cut Architecture as source of knowledge

• Rock-cut caves belonging to the third century BCE have been found in different parts of India. It shows the popularity of Yaksha worship and how it became part of figure representation in Buddhist and Jaina religious monuments.
• Depiction of a monumental rock-cut elephant at Dhauli in Odisha gives us information about the social and religious trends in the era. It has Ashokan rock-edict. All these examples are remarkable
• in their execution of figure representation. The rock-cut cave carved at Barabar hills near Gaya in Bihar is known as the Lomus Rishi cave. It was donated by Ashoka for the Ajivika sect and Buddhist and Jain monks as places of worship and residence.
• The Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, a World Heritage Site, constitute thirty rock-cut cave Buddhist temples carved; murals here are recognized as some of the greatest art produced by humankind.
• There are stories from Jataka, depiction of Buddhist legends and divinities. This gives an insight into the socio political scenario in ancient India.
• Kailash temple at Ellora built by the Rashtrakutas and the Ratha temples of Mahabalipuram built by the Pallavas are other examples of rock-cut temples.
• The earliest cave temples include the Bhaja Caves, the Karla Caves, the Bedse Caves, the Kanheri Caves, and some of the Ajanta Caves. Relics found in these caves suggest a connection between the religious and the commercial. Buddhist missionaries are known to have accompanied traders on the busy international trading routes through India.
• Kanheri caves acted as education center in Western India. Water resources are prevalent at Kanheri which shows water harvesting was practiced at caves

Thus it can be seen that rock cut architecture helps us to trace the life in India and its evolution through socio political perspective.

Q2: Pala period is the most significant phase in the history of Buddhism in India. Enumerate. (UPSC GS 1 2020)
Ans: The Pala dynasty ruled from 8th century to 12th century CE in the regions comprising Bihar and Bengal. The last centuries of the first millennium were extremely important for Buddhism during the rule of the Pala dynasty.
Role of Pala Dynasty

• Gopala First Pala king and founder of the dynasty is considered the first Buddhist king of Bengal and built the monastery at Odantapuri, Bihar. 
• Dharmapala the successor of Gopala was a pious Buddhist and Founded the Vikramshila University at Bhagalpur, Bihar which was a prestigious university for Buddhism after NALANDA. 
• Devapala, another PALA king was a staunch Buddhist and built many monasteries and temples in Magadha. 
• Buddhist poet Vajradatta who composed Lokesvara Shataka was in Devapala’s court. 
• Many Buddhist teachers from the Pala kingdom traveled to Southeast Asia to spread the faith. Atisha preached in Sumatra and Tibet. 
• Most of the architecture of the PALA dynasty was religious with the first two hundred years dominated by Buddhist art. 
• Various Mahaviharas, Stupas, chaityas, temples, and forts were constructed like Nalanda, VikramShila, somapura, Traikutaka, Devikota, Pandita, Jagaddalavihara are notable. 
• A large number of manuscripts on palm-leaf relating to the Buddhist themes were written and illustrated with the images of Buddhist deities at these centers which also had workshops for the casting of bronze images. 
• Somapuramahavihara at Paharpur, a creation of Dharmapala is one of the largest Buddhist viharas in the Indian subcontinent; its architectural plan has influenced the architecture of countries like Myanmar and Indonesia. 
• The earliest examples of miniature painting in India exist in the form of illustrations to the religious texts on Buddhism executed under the Palas of eastern India. 
• Pala style was transmitted chiefly by means of bronze sculptures and palm-leaf paintings, celebrating the Buddha and other divinities. 
• Manuscripts were written on palm leaves in which paintings of scenes of the life of Buddha and several gods and goddesses of Mahayana sects are depicted. 
• The principal centers of production for both bronzes and paintings were the great Buddhist monasteries at Nalanda and Kurkihar, and the works were distributed throughout Southeast Asia, influencing the arts in Myanmar (Burma), Siam (now Thailand), and Java (now part of Indonesia). 
• Pala arts also had a recognizable impact on the Buddhist art of Kashmir, Nepal, and Tibet. 
• The sculptures of stones and bronze were constructed in large numbers mostly in monastic sites of Nalanda, Bodh Gaya, etc. Most of the sculptures drew their inspiration from Buddhism.

PALA kings also used Buddhism as soft power diplomacy as Ashoka did in the Mauryan period. The rulers of the Pala dynasty not only gave political support to the development of Buddhism but through their architecture and visual arts, protected Buddhist philosophy for future generations.

Q3: Evaluate the policies of Lord Curzon and their long term implications on the national movements. (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: The time of Curzon’s governorship (1899-1905), was the formative phase of Indian national movement. Thus he tried to strangulate Indian nationalism and freedom movement by all fair and foul means. A sharp reaction was created in the Indian mind by Curzon’s seven-year rule in India which was full of missions, commissions and omissions.
Partition of Bengal 1905

• The Bengal had become too large to be administered as a single unit. To solve the problem, the Government partitioned Bengal on October 16, 1905 into two parts viz. Eastern Bengal and Assam and Rest of Bengal (Western Part). 
• But Curzon was not aware of its fallouts. It was different than dividing an American county for better administration. 
• The decision stirred the Bengali patriotism. Congress escalated the issue as government conspiracy to divide Bengal from Bengali and break India into pieces. 
• Further, it was also seen as an intrigue to divide Hindus and Muslims. 
• The Boycott and Swadeshi movement were the result of this emotive issue and through these movements, the Indian people made a unique innovative experiment by linking political opposition with society and culture. 
• People were aroused from slumber and now they learned to take bold political positions and participate in new forms of political work. 
• The partition of Bengal paved the way for the creation of Muslim League and sowed the seeds of Partition of India. 
• It also brought revolutionary nationalism to a climax and Bengal became the epicenter of revolutionary nationalism. 
• Partition was later annulled in 1911 but it changed Indian political scenario forever Famine of 1899.
• In 1899-1900, the areas of Agra, Oudh, Bengal, Central provinces, Central Provinces, Rajputana, Gujarat etc. came under the grip of a severe famine which claimed thousands of lives. 
• The British initiatives were also grossly inadequate because no intervention was done to control the grain prices. There was no humanitarian consideration in the relief measures • The Famine of 1899-1900 {Chappania Akal} played an important role to upsurge resentment against the colonial government.

Calcutta Corporation Act (1899)

• Through Calcutta Corporation act 1899 he reduced the number of elected legislatures to deprive Indians from self-governance. 
• This was a major setback for moderate Congress leaders and they started realising the actual imperialist nature of government.

Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900

• The Curzon Government enacted the Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900 which placed a 15 year limitation on all land purchases and mortgages. 
• This act provided that the no non-peasant could buy lands from the peasants; and no one could attach the land for non-payment of debts. 
• But due to this, peasantry got into further problems because now they were unable to access credit. 
• Congress took it as an opportunity to criticize the government. It passed a resolution in the 1899 Lucknow session against these measures.

Indian Universities Act (1904)

• The Indian Universities and the colleges were slowly becoming a cradle of propaganda against the Government. To bring the universities under control, Lord Curzon appointed Raleigh Commission and according to this commission report passed Indian Universities Act 1904 
• The Indian Universities Act made the universities and colleges completely under the Government control. 
• The section of the students was very angry with this and they took part in the Swadeshi movement and became an integral part of India’s freedom struggle. 
• However, for better education and research a grant of Rs. 5 Lakh per year for 5 years was also accepted. 
• This was the beginning of university grants in India which later became a permanent feature in the structure of India education.

The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904

• The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904 was enacted during the time of Lord Curzon and one of the main purposes of the Act was to muzzle the voice of nationalist publications. 
• It was seen as an attack on freedom of speech and expression. 
• Attack on TIBET 
  • Lord Curzon launched an attack upon Tibet and send a mission under young husband. 
  • The nationalistic leaders saw this attack motivated by commercial greed and territorial Aggrandizement.

He was a great imperialist, authoritarian in temperament, ruthless in his ways and wanted to achieve too much at too great pace. That is why his policy resulted in deep discontent and the upsurge of a revolutionary movement in the country and had long term implications on national movement.

Q4: Discuss the geophysical characteristics of Circum-Pacific Zone (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: The Circum-Pacific Belt, also referred to as The Ring of Fire, is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
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• Location: A nearly continuous chain of volcanoes surrounds the Pacific Ocean. The chain passes along the west coast of North and South America, from the Aleutian Islands to the south of Japan, from Indonesia to the Tonga Islands, and New Zealand.
• Formation: This Circum-Pacific chain of volcanoes (often called the Ring of Fire) and the mountain ranges associated with it owe their formation to the repeated subduction of the oceanic lithosphere beneath the continents and the islands that surround the Pacific Ocean.
• The Ring of Fire is the result of plate tectonics (Convergent, Divergent Plate Boundary, Transform Plate Boundary).
• Harbors Majority of Volcano & Earthquakes: Seventy-five percent of Earth’s volcanoes—more than 450 volcanoes—are located along the Ring of Fire.
• Ninety percent of Earth’s earthquakes occur along its path, including the planet’s most violent and dramatic seismic events.
• List of Some Volcano Circum-Pacific Belt: Mount Fuji of Japan, The Aleutian Islands of US, Krakatau Island Volcano in Indonesia, etc.
• Formation of Hot Spots: The Ring of Fire is also home to hot spots, areas deep within the Earth’s mantle from which heat rises.
• This heat facilitates the melting of rock in the brittle, upper portion of the mantle. The melted rock, known as magma, often pushes through cracks in the crust to form volcanoes.

As the Circum-Pacific Belt harbors the majority of global Volcanic eruptions & Earthquakes, it holds immense significance regarding the study of the earth’s interior.

Q5: The process of desertification doesn't have climate boundaries. Justify with examples. (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: 

• When human activities and climatic variations as a result of these activities degrade land in large pockets and beyond arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, no climatic boundary can hold the widening expanse of desertification which is the process by which fertile land becomes desert due to drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture. 
• Land use and land cover changes in many dryland areas have increased the frequency and intensity of dust storms across the Arabian Peninsula and broader Middle East, Central Asia. Increased land surface air temperature with other factors has contributed to desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of East and Central Asia, and Australia. 
• The net anthropogenic flux of CO2 because of land cover change including deforestation resulted in a worldwide increase in the area undergoing desertification. The biggest threat is the extremity of desertification that is the complete loss of land productivity imposing constraints on temperature and precipitation which are defining elements of climatic boundaries. 
• There are many factors that contribute to the process of increasing desertification. Moreover, the process of desertification is not just restricted to a particular climate boundary, i.e. arid and semi-arid areas. It is a global phenomenon that can be corroborated in the following examples.
• Climate Change: Climate change is a global issue that poses a threat to all progress done by mankind in the last two centuries. The effect of Climate change is also a significant factor in increasing desertification.
  • As the land surface is warming more quickly than the Earth’s surface as a whole, this results in smaller increases in surface ocean temperatures compared to the land surface as global temperatures rise. 
  • Further, both natural variabilities in climate and global warming can also affect rainfall patterns around the world, which can contribute to desertification. 
  • While this sustained, human-caused warming can by itself add to heat stress faced by vegetation, it is also linked to worsening extreme weather events like Floods, Droughts, Landslides. 
• Soil Erosion: One of the main processes for desertification is erosion. This is typically through some force of nature such as wind, rain, and waves, but can be exacerbated by man-made activities including plowing, grazing, or deforestation. 
  • The World Atlas of Desertification (2018) indicated that it is not possible to deterministically map the global extent of land degradation. 
  • Further, soil erosion is a global phenomenon that affects almost all major biomes in the world. The occurrences of dust storms in northern India testifies to this observation. 
• Loss of Soil Fertility: A loss of soil fertility is another form of degradation. In order to increase agricultural production, whether it is a developed or developing country, soils are being exposed to the overuse of fertilizers. 
  • Due to this salinization and acidification of soils is increasing. 
• Urbanization: According to several reports, urbanization is increasing at a rapid pace. Even in India, almost 50% of the population is expected to live in urban areas, by 2050. 
  • As urbanization increases, the demand for resources increases, drawing more resources and leaving lands that easily succumb to desertification.

Q6: How will the melting of Himalayan glaciers have a far- reaching impact on the water resources of India?
Ans: India known for her rivers as blessings has both perennial and non-perennial rivers. Rivers of north India originate in Himalayas and Himalayan glaciers and are known as perennial rivers. Ganga, Bharamputra, Satluj etc. are the rivers of Himalayas.
Melting of glaciers is a phase of global warming cycle of the Earth but with the anthropogenic activities the rate of melting of glaciers has aggravated. From the past decade, the global temperature has increased which has accelerated the melting of glaciers which will impact water resources in India in several ways: 

• Melting of glaciers will lead to overflow of rivers resulting into floods, breaking of dams, increased expanse of the river course etc. This will cause loss of human life, animal life, destruction of habitat and harvest.
• Increased flow of river also results in the increase of erosion power of river. The rivers will start eroding deep into the river beds which can cause overload of sedimentation and siltation. 
• The sediments that rivers carry with them will be drained into sea making the sea water level saline which results into coral reefs destruction, submerging of islands and so on. 

Melting of glaciers will solve the scarcity of water in India for short-term. For optimumutilization,the government has to take steps like interlinking of river, formation of ponds, irrigation facilities, etc. which will help mitigate the impacts. These steps can help decrease the possibility of water scarcity in long term as melting of glaciers will lead to decline in the availability of fresh water.

Q7: Account for the present location of Iron and Steel industries away from the source of raw material, by giving examples. (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: 

• The iron and steel industry is a basis for the development of a number of industries in the global economy: the Defence industry, transportation and heavy engineering, energy and construction (including aeronautical and shipping construction). 
• At global level in 2018, the world crude steel production reached 1789 million tonnes (mt) and showed a growth of 4.94% over 2017.China remained world’s largest crude steel producer in 2018 (928 mt) followed by India (106 mt), Japan (104 mt) and the USA (87 mt). 

Reasons behind it are away from its source of raw material: 

• Near Coastal regions: As iron and coal were depleted the need for imported coal and iron increased. This made factories to shift to newer areas in the coastal regions. The coastal factories depended on imported iron or coal and lowered cost of transportation from factory to port. Iron ore and coal producing regions have a bi-directional relationship. 
• The wagons that transported coal to iron ore regions would return empty so un-economical use. Hence the wagons would return with iron ore towards the coal producing regions. Thus in both these areas iron and coal industries flourished. E.g: Pittsburg-Lake Superior, Bokaro-Rourkela. 
• Modern Technology: New technologies available for steel production reduced the pull factor of coalmines. Modern technology such as electric smelters, open hearth system etc have helped in shifting steel industries away from coal and iron ore reserves by making efficient use of scrap metal and also reducing energy requirement. For example: Bhushan steel plant in Ghaziabad. 
• Oxygen converter process and electric smelters used less energy and now such mini-steel plants can be located away from mines and towards cities. Mini Steel plants are located in Eastern India and have a high gestation period. They are integrated complexes with the entire process from raw material processing to final conversion into alloys and steel products being done. 
• Mini Steel Plants are located near cities and they recycle waste steel to produce finished products. They avoid competition with integrated steel plants by locating away from them. 
• Strategic reasons: After WWll, USA and USSR adopted a policy to not allow concentration of industries in one region. Thus in USA some plants were setup in western region such as California and USSR and some in the eastern side towards pacific coast. India too used licensing to locate industries in backward areas as they might promote development. 

Even after local coal-iron resources are depleted, the Iron and steel industries do not frequently shift their location because of Industrial Inertia and reasons like: Labor is available abundantly and skilled in industrial areas.
But if the industry moves to a newer location such labor might not be available. Rail, road and transportation facilities towards markets and ports are well developed in the industrial locations. The same facilities aren’t developed in newer locations and so it is more convenient to import raw materials and modernize operations. Secondary industries don’t shift even when the primary industry might move. So the entrepreneurs are dissuaded from shifting their locations as it might affect their market base.

Q8: Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your answer with illustrations. (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: Famous sociologist David Mandelbaum has said that the key to understanding the Indian society lies in Indian Village, Joint Family and Caste system. This provesthe importance of caste system as one of the most important dimensions to know the multi-cultural Indian Society.
Compare with past: how the role of caste is evolving with time 

• With the breakdown of the closed village economy and the rise of democratic politics, the competitive element embedded in caste has come to the fore. This has eroded the role of caste as a system of economic interdependence and social coercion. 
• With the advent of Indian Constitution and the inception of democratic polity in India, two opposing socio-political phenomena occurred. First, the modern technological education and economic activities inculcated into the society which eroded the role of caste and second, it gave rise to the subaltern assertion. 

Caste relevance in the contemporary society with examples 

• Many scholars thought that the caste system will fade out in background. But on the contrary, it proves itself to be quite adaptive and responsive to changing socio political environment. 
• The democratization has resulted in caste politics which has further led to the politization of the caste consciousness. 
• Caste has emerged as a pressure group having roles in many contemporary agitations viz. Jat agitation, Patel agitation, etc. 
• It is now acting as a welfare unit providing free coaching, residential facility, scholarship, etc. 
• Nowadays, the caste identity has strengthened itself in contemporary times as seen in various Dalit literatures, Cinema such as Sairat, Media such as National Dastak. 
• Furthermore, the alternative Indian history, which was introduced by Jyoti Rao Phule, can be seen as gaining traction in the political sphere. 
• Also, the subaltern society has provided itself an economic platform viz. the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry which was founded in 2005 by Milind Kamble. 
• Further, many caste icons have come to the fore such as Savitri Phule, Shahuji Maharaj, and most importantly, Dr. Ambedkar. 
• Even among Muslims, a social reform dedicated to the emancipation of the Dalit Muslims, called Pasmanda movement, can be observed. 

In the contemporary Indian society, a basic shift took place in caste; from ritual hierarchy to identity politics, from ascribed and designated status to negotiated positions of power, from ritual definitions of roles and positions to civic and political definitions of the same. The caste system eroded at the ritual level, but emerged at the political and economic levels. Therefore, the importance of the caste system in understanding the Indian society cannot be ruled out at present and in future.

Q9: COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment.
Ans: The COVID-19 pandemic is a great leveler. Unlike tuberculosis, which is largely regarded as a poor man’s disease, COVID-19 has affected everyone, irrespective of their social or economic status. It has, however, also exacerbated several inequalities.
COVID-19 accelerated class inequalities 

• Inter- and intra-state disparities: In India, there are significant inter- and intra-state disparities. Rural–urban differentials are also severe. For instance, there is a huge skew in the distribution of doctors working in urban and rural areas, with the urban to rural doctor density ratio being 3.8:1. 
• In terms of availability of hospital beds, states like Bihar are well below the national average of 0.55 beds in the public sector per 1000 population while others like West Bengal (2.25 beds/1000) and Sikkim (2.34 beds/1000) have considerably more. 
• The union government has been providing supplementary resources as well as offering free testing and treatment for COVID-19 to 50 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana through empaneled laboratories and hospitals in the private sector, in addition to government facilities. However, at a time when the entire country is amidst an outbreak of a highly contagious illness, underlying health system inequalities are undoubtedly intensified. 
• Gender inequality: With work-from-home guidelines issued by private companies and a strictly enforced social distancing policy, families are at home with kids, without any help from nannies or cooks. 
• Women, with full-time paid employment, will now also end up executing most of the household chores like cooking, cleaning, and childcare. This would result in many women working with reduced efficiency because of the additional and disproportionate share of the workload. 
• Further, there are concerns of rising domestic violence and sexual abuse. It is well-known that many crimes against women are carried out by people close to them, often in their own homes. Due to social distancing, it has become even more difficult for women to report their experiences and seek help. 
• Migrants: Differential safe passage arrangements for international and domestic migrants and differential quarantine facilities for different socio-economic strata have their roots in a society stratified by caste, class, gender and ethnicity Access to education: The access to education, for instance, is becoming more challenging for children from poorer households. For a majority of Indians, digital learning is still not a viable option. Even though the mobile phone and internet penetration has been quite rapid and high over the last few years, the digital divide is still quite significant. 
• The children from poor households that will lose out on vital access to education as long as the pandemic continues will hardly see an improvement in their conditions after that. These children will witness their households slide further into poverty over the coming year. 

COVID-19 accelerated class inequalities and poverty 

• The World Bank has noted that India is at risk of losing many of its hard-won gains against poverty. In its 2020 India Development Update in July, the World Bank noted that half of India’s population is vulnerable with “consumption levels precariously close” to the poverty line. 
• India’s most vulnerable are moving from poverty to hunger. In 2019, 14.5 percent of India’s population — 195 million people – were malnourished, largely due to extreme inequality. An OXFAM India survey found that half of the rural households were having to cut back on their meals five weeks after the Indian government instituted a 21-day lockdown. 
• Following the COVID-19-induced economic disruptions, millions jobs have been lost and million people pushed back into poverty in India, all of which have a hit on consumer income, spending and savings, says a report. 
• Poverty alleviation received a set-back, significantly changing the fortunes of many, putting people into poverty and some into abject poverty. 

Suggestion 

• Strengthen the “safety net” significantly for the most vulnerable: The government could consider expanding the scale and duration of direct benefits for the poor by transferring an additional INR 15,000 to INR 18,000 per head to 300 million Indians under the Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan Yojana (welfare-for-the-poor plan) and providing other forms of support such as universalizing social security, increasing the monthly pension payout for senior citizens to INR 1,000 per month, and universalizing healthcare. 
• Enable survival of small and medium businesses: Provide direct assistance covering 70% of the payroll of small businesses, with a Small Business Corpus of USD 60 billion. 
• Restart the rural economy: Increase the maximum support price of critical crops, particularly priority cereals and pulses, and boost the funding and scope of the employment guarantee to all rural districts. 
• Provide targeted assistance to at-risk sectors: The government should devise sector-specific “rescue and revival packages” structured as five- to eight-year convertible loans for several capital and labor-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, retail, hospitality, healthcare, travel and automotives. 
• With a focus on export-oriented industries such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, renewables, medical devices, food processing, electricals, precision components, heavy engineering, chemicals and textiles, a renewed push should be made to attract investments and improve the ease of doing business. 
• Accelerate Digital India and innovation: We propose that the government catalyze a “Digital Team India” initiative along with leading global technology leaders and select local players to implement digital collaboration and cyber security solutions for Indian companies. 
• The government could accelerate deployment of high-speed fiber-based broadband and accelerate India’s transition to 5G. 

The country needs to work towards reducing the vast inequality in education access, health facilities, livelihood opportunities, etc. to prevent accentuating its societal inequality in the future.

Q10: Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural assertiveness? Argue. (UPSC GS1 2020)
Ans: Regionalism is a feeling of pride and loyalty that people belonging to a region have. It is sometimes associated with a feeling of superiority of belonging to one region as compared to those belonging to other regions. It is regional loyalty in place of national loyalty. It gives rise to the regional autonomy and in extreme case, the demand for the creation of a separate state. It favors the son of soil theory. Relationship between regionalism and cultural assertiveness with illustrations. 

• Generally, having pride in one’s way of life is not a bad thing and it works under the aegis of the larger national sentiment. It instills confidence in the local community and plays an important role in bringing out the positive developments in the socio-economic conditions. 
• But whenever the other factors are also there such as if there is perceived threat on the cultural identities, political dissatisfaction, and discontent in the socio-economic conditions of the regional community, it becomes more assertive in nature. For example, local Marathi people against non-Marathi’s, Gorkhas against mainstream Bengalis, Bodoland territorial region in Assam, etc. 
• There are many aspects of culture such as language, religion, and ethnicity which have given rise to regionalism and demand for the new states. For example, many states have been formed on the basis of language after Independence. There were demands of separatism in erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir for the three major religions. Despite not having the same language, there has been demands for the creation of a Greater Nagaland based on the common ethnicity. Likewise, there was the demand for the adoption of NRC in Assam, based on religion and language. 
• It is important to note that regionalism is both the effect and feedback to the culture assertiveness. The regional politics usually strengthen the feeling of the cultural regionalism. It eventually gives rise to the extreme feeling of the assertiveness which ultimately becomes exclusionary. Due to this, secessionism, separatism, and violence to people from other religious, linguistic, and ethnic groups are the results. For example, people from north-east India and from East India were targeted in Bangalore and Mumbai respectively. On other hand, other factors also play equal important role. 
• Political Factors: India’s politics and its political parties showcase the regionalism present in our country. They are broadly divided into: National Parties and Regional Parties. 
• National parties have a strong hold in many states. Their work is based on an all India agenda. For Example, The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) On the other hand, the Regional parties are mostly confined to a single state. They work based on the interest of the state. For Example, Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Political aspirations of leaders remain a major source of regionalism. 
• For example, regional political parties have used the regional and linguistic identities to secure votes. They have created an imaginary threat from outsiders and promise their vote bank for securing their land for themselves and to eliminate outsiders. Regional parties and fringe elements in various states have campaigned for this agenda Economic Factors: Economic factors also contribute to the development of regionalism. 
• For example, some states and regions are better in terms of development like infrastructure, healthcare, job opportunities etc. These economic factors cause inequality problems between regions. For example, the formation of states like Jharkhand and Telangana were based on lack of development. The problem of Naxalism has its roots in economic deprivation of people belonging to this region. 

Regionalism in India is rooted in India’s diversity of languages, cultures, tribes, and religions. It is also encouraged by the geographical concentration of these identity markers in particular regions, and fueled by a sense of regional deprivation. The cultural assertiveness is one of the factors of the regionalism in India along with regional politics, economic deprivation and unsatisfaction. There has been a long history of regionalism as a tool for the political assertiveness which poses a threat to the national integration in India if it becomes exclusionary.