National Integration

India has many races, nationalities, castes, subs castes, and communities, but so far the heart of India is concerned it is one. It is true that societies that have been integrated into bonds of unity have always enjoyed peace, stability, prosperity, and permanence. And those torn by mutual disruptive tendencies among various sections of society have always been short-lived and become non-existent. The national uniting different people from all walks of life into a single whole. The most serious problem being faced by India in present circumstances is, how to develop an atmosphere of national consciousness among so varied a people.

Indians already have suffered for long periods, the pangs of enslavement and servitude. It is India in the whole world which has suffer under foreign rulers for more than seven hundred years. The separatist tendencies among people and kings have always resulted in the fall of our kingdoms. Our country was always divided into a large number of small kingdoms which were mostly at daggers end. There has been a lack of national consciousness. The internal disputes among the Rajput kings allowed Muslim invaders to establish their foothold here. Then the Britishers were able to create rifts between various kings and princes and thus established their supremacy. It was only overthrown when Indian nationhood joined together by the unparallel acumen of some great Indian leaders who became creators of history.

There is a need to make efforts for creating emotional integration or a sense of unity. The need of the hour is national integration. It should be taught at the very beginning, in all schools and colleges all over the country that India is one and only one. The difference between various cultures is just superficial and basically, it is only one. What is needed is superior interpretations, synthesis of the power of the mind that can give rise to a vision of the whole and oneness. The school and college teaching material should be suitably revised wherein the importance and need of oneness should be emphasized. From one end of the country to the other end, regular long-distance tours must be conducted so as to foster emotional integration among the young students of our country. Steps must be taken to see that, there are no sectional appeals so that disunity among the people does not increase manifold.

To bring about national integration, there are many techniques. It can be forced out or can be made to strengthen from within the core of hearts. The result by way of exercise of power would always be weak, unsuccessful and it would be for a temporary phase only. But when the sense of national integration stems from within, it would be strong, stable, and ever-lasting.

British government brought about national integration by way of their deeds. For the first time during the British rule, the whole of India came to be governed from one center and all regions of the country from West to East and South to North obeyed instructions and advice from one central power. This was because the God of freedom was the same and realized all over the country. The national unity became more emotional when the country fought a united struggle for freedom. Emotional integration is the basic foundation on which the main structure of national integration can be created

There is a rich cultural heritage in India. All of us are inheritors to several grand treasurers in the fields of music, dance, drama, fine arts and paintings, sculpture, and theatre. Our seers and sages have left behind a tradition of piety, penance, the conquest of passion, and spiritual greatness. Our cultural unity is further exemplified by the great temples of the South, the caves of Khajuraho, and Ajanta and Ellora which are glittering examples of proficiency of India in the field of architecture and sculpture. Indian classical music is built on the concept of ragas and talas. Each raga is regarded as appropriate to a certain emotion, a certain mood suitable for a specified time of the day or night. In modern times, people like Pandit Ravi Shanker have taken Indian music to great heights in the whole world and thus have bridged the gap between the East and the West in the field of music.

Today the intellectuals of Indian society can give the right direction as the country is standing at the crossroads of failures and achievements. The intellectuals must come out of their narrow cells of detachment and awake up to their responsibilities towards the general masses. Through national integration, we will prosper and flourish and dominate the others who are characterized by divisive forces. We will carry with us, power and strength, solidity and solidarity, and an element of cohesiveness which will impart to us further permanence and stay in the present struggling world.