Regional Aspirations

Therefore, (a)-(iii); (b)-(iv); (c)-(ii); (d)-(i).

i) Nagaland/Mizoram - Secessionist demands on account of tribal identity. Both are the north eastern states with tribal majority.

ii) Jharkhand/Chattisgarh- Before separation Jharkhand was part of Bihar and Chattisgarh of Madhya Pradesh respectively, but there were regional dispute due to different ethnicity which lead to secession.

iii) Punjab- The northern state had completely different ethnicity, culture and religion from the rest part of India.

iv) Tamil Nadu- The southern state has its own linguistic identity which spark tensions with the centre.

Three issues dominate the politics of North-East: demands for autonomy, movements for secession, and opposition to ‘outsiders’. Major initiatives on the first issue in the 1970s set the stage for some dramatic

developments on the second and the third in the 1980s.

1. Demands for autonomy: This demand arose in Tripura and Manipur which compromised the state of Assam. This majorly arose when the non assamese political leaders felt that the assamese was forcibly imposed upon them.

2. Secessionist Movement: The mizo hills area in Mizoram never felt that they were under British therefore after independence they did not considered themselves as the part of India. Several campaigns started to be an independent state.

3. Movements against outsiders: This issue has taken place in several states of North east. The Assam movement was such movement against outsiders because they suspected that there were huge numbers of illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

After coming to power following the election in 1984, the new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi initiated a dialogue with moderate Akali leaders. In July 1985, he reached an agreement with Harchand Singh Longowal, then the President of the Akali Dal. This agreement, known as the Rajiv Gandhi – Longowal Accord or the Punjab Accord.

The main provisions of the accord:

1. Transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab.

2. Appoint separate commission to resolve border dispute between Punjab and Haryana.

3. Setting up of tribunal to settle down the dispute between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan over Ravi-Beas river.

4. Provide compensation to and better treatment of those affected by the militancy in Punjab.

5. The withdrawal of the application of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Punjab.

Despite this effort peace couldn’t be established in Punjab:

1. Militancy and counter insurgency violence led to excesses by the police and violations of human rights.

2. It led to fragmentation of the Akali Dal.

3. The central government had to impose President’s rule in the State and the normal electoral and political process was suspended.

Peace returned to Punjab by the middle of 1990s. The alliance of Akali Dal (Badal) and the BJP scored a major victory in1997, in the first normal elections in the State in the post-militancy era. The State is once again preoccupied with questions of economic development and social change.

In 1970s Akali Dal started to demand Political autonomy in Punjab, and passed a resolution at Anandpur Sahib conference.

1. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution asserted regional autonomy and wanted to redefine centre-state relationship in the country.

2. The resolution also spoke of the aspirations of the Sikh qaum (community or nation) and declared its goal as attaining the bolbala (dominance or hegemony) of the Sikhs.

3. The Resolution was a plea for strengthening federalism, but it could also be interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh nation.

4. The Resolution had a limited appeal among the Sikh masses.

The resolution was controversial due to:

1. The Akali dal government was dismissed.

2. the leadership of the movement passed from the moderate Akalis to the extremist elements and took the form of armed insurgency.

3. These militants made their headquarters inside the Sikh holy shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and turned it into an armed fortress.

4. In June 1984, the Government of India carried out ‘Operation Blue Star’, code name for army action in the Golden Temple. In this operation, the government could successfully flush out the militants, but it also damaged the historic temple and deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs.

The Kashmir region has always been into controversy both due to external and internal matters. External disputes with Pakistan in which It claims Kashmir as its territory.

Internally, there is a dispute about the status of Kashmir within the Indian union.

The internal divisions of Kashmir:

1. Kashmir is a valley, with Kashmiri speaking Muslim and Hindu where Hindus are in minority.

2. Jammu a plain region on the foothills compromise of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh.

3. Ladakh is the upper region with a little population of Muslim and Budhhists.

These internal divisions lead to multiple regional aspiration in the state:

1. There is one strand of separatists who want a separate Kashmiri nation, independent of India and Pakistan.

2. Then there are groups that want Kashmir to merge with Pakistan.

3. There is a third strand which wants greater autonomy for the people of the state within the Indian union.

4. The idea of autonomy attracts the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions in a different way. They often complain of neglect and backwardness.

Various positions on the issue of regional Autonomy for Kashmir:

1. Kashmiris were promised to make accession on reference of people after situation created by tribal invasion becomes normal. But it has not been fulfilled.

2. Special granted to Jammu Kashmir under art 370 provides federal status, but the status has been eroded practically which led to demand of Greater State Autonomy.

3. There are many laws and acts that are not applicable in the region, hence it is also felt that democracy is not institutionalised in similar way as it is in rest part of the country.

The first position stated is justiciable because the situation would lead to plebiscite which would help Kashmir to protect its regional autonomy in democratic manner.

The Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985 is the best example movements against ‘outsiders’.

1. The Assamese suspected that there were huge numbers of illegal Bengali Muslim settlers from Bangladesh.

2. The movement was against illegal migrations, against domination of Bengalis and other outsiders, and against faulty voters’ register that included the names of lakhs of immigrants.

3. There was widespread poverty and unemployment in Assam despite the existence of natural resources like oil, tea and coal.

4. The agitation followed many novel methods and mobilised all sections of Assamese people, drawing support across the State.

All regional movements need not lead to separatist demands because:

1. Regional aspirations are very much a part of democratic politics. A large and diverse democracy like India must deal with regional aspirations on a regular basis.

2. The best way to respond to regional aspirations is through democratic negotiations rather than through suppression. Example Militancy arose in Punjab, Kashmir Instead of treating these as simple law and order problems, the Government of India reached negotiated settlement with regional movements.

3. It is not sufficient to have a formal democratic structure. Besides that, groups and parties from the region need to be given share in power at the State level.

4. The regional imbalance in economic development contributes to the feeling of regional discrimination.

Yes, I agree Regional demands from different parts of India exemplify the principle of unity with diversity.

1. India’s democratic politics allows people and group to address the people on the basis of regional identity and specific regional problems.

2. India’s democratic politics focuses on regional issues including the issues of Kashmir, Punjab and Assam.

3. The government of India also settled down regional disputes by negotiating with the regional parties.

These demand and aspirations does not differentiate but respect diversity to retain unity in the nation.

(a) The poet is talking about unity of Assamese.

(b) The regional parties felt that the government was imposing Assamese language upon them, so the demands for separate states were raised.

(c) Yes, same theme could be applied to all the regions of India because Indian government deals with all these regional aspirations frequently.