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Even before its independence, obituaries for India as a country had been pouring from world over. Politician and political scientists predicted that a plethora of caste, class, culture, languages and religion would be inimical to national solidarity. That various parts of India are so diverse – north of India is a total contrast to south and so is west from east – that it can be termed as countries within a country. Yet, India has managed to defy all speculations and theories, by staying united and democratic despite its massive heterogeneous population and widespread poverty. While there have been some secessionist movements, by and large over 75% of India has been peaceful at any given time; thereby being an exception to the one state, one language, one religion rule. So what is it that keeps India united?
India is a Hindu majority country. At the same time, it also is home to the second largest population of Muslims in the world and has substantial population of Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Buddhists. The Indian Constitution is secular in content and intent and does not discriminate any person on the basis of faith. Although the state interferes in some matters related to religion, like say the anti-conversion laws, no religion is either given any privileges, or denied freedom. Gandhiji’s famous bhajan Ishwar Allah Tero Naam underlines the importance of harmony between India’s two major religions. Partition did not result in India becoming a Hindu nation. Instead, it enforced the secular notion even more deeply.
Of course, there are political parties that indulge in religion and caste based politics, but they have not been able to hijack religion/caste to an extent that it could strain the unity of the country. Even those on the extreme right, have failed to completely take over the leadership of the majority religion. The communal riots reflect the politics that goes into manipulating two faiths, but that does not mean that people from minority religions are barred from succeeding in any profession. Persons from minority background have been top politicians, industrialists, film stars, scientists and military top brass. At a time when Islam is undergoing a churning world over, it is a reflection on Indian secularism and faith of Indian Muslims in it that there are no major indigenous Islamist terrorist movements.
Hindi and English are both recognized as the official languages of India; however states are allowed to run their administration in the state’s language. The constitution recognizes all state official languages. Hindi is not being forced on the population, with South Indians rarely speaking Hindi. Even the Parliament allows a member to speak in his mother tongue if he is not comfortable with either Hindi or English. In India’s neighborhood, single language Urdu in Pakistan and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka was officially recognized – causing rebellion amongst the Bengali and Tamil speaking population of the respective countries. On the other hand, in India where there are 22 official languages, 398 living languages and numerous dialects, the freedom to use one’s own language has kept the linguistic movements under check.
Massive social disparities are also a glaring reality that poses a question mark on sustainability of Indian unity. India is shining, but only at the periphery. The core consists of a huge chunk of the deprived – one-third of world’s poor resides in India. Such social asymmetry has fuelled many movements, including the current Naxalite one. However, majority of Indians have always preferred ballots over bullets; the deep rooted democracy allows them to vote out governments that fail to deliver goods at the grass root level. Democracy is one cohesive force – which though has its own fallacies – has been an instrument of empowerment for Indians. People trust in the power of vote and their ability to bring change with it. Regular elections also subconsciously enforce the Indian national identity amongst the populace.
Apart from democracy and pluralism of religion and language, there are other forces that keep India integrated. Foremost being, freedom and protection provided by the Constitution and secured by an independent judiciary. Freedom of speech and expression ensures that there is always a vent for grievances of the people. There are no restrictions on press to write on sensitive issues, like say Kashmir. Similarly, there are no limitations of practicing or propagating one’s religion. The Constitutional and legal provisions for protection and betterment of the weaker and minority sections ensures protection of their rights. Also, the State adopts a flexible attitude in case of secessionist tendencies – with the government open to give concessions and more autonomy within the framework of the Indian Union.
The freedom of movement of people to live, study or work across the country enshrines India as one single landmass in the psyche of its populace. Similarly, the free flow of goods makes it one economic unit. These free movements also allow for cross cultural exchanges. Indians are well versed with various cultures within the country, thanks mainly to Hindi cinema. So a Keralite knows of Punjabi bhangra and a Goanese knows of Bengali durga puja. At the personal level, the texture of life is extremely interwoven. Every person is almost certain to have a close friend or colleague of other faith, caste or state; thereby ensuring that he is part of their festivities. So while Muslim kids light crackers on Diwali with their Hindu friends, the latter wait for sheer korma on Eid.
India stays united because there is a comfortable coexistence of the Indian identity along with a separate cultural, religious, caste, class and linguistic identity. For example, we have a Punjabi and Indian, a Dalit and Indian, a Muslim and Indian and so on. Unlike most of the nations, India does not give primacy to any religion, language, ethnicity, caste or class. Instead India celebrates its pluralism; and this serves as the foundation for Indian unity. India has successfully avoided trying to find a single, exclusivist definition of Indianness. It has rather carried itself forward by celebrating its differences, its heterogeneity. The unity in diversity has become a catchphrase synonymous to India for years. Today, the time has come when the Indian example of peaceful co-existence can serve good to many nations that are warring within their own boundaries. 
Semu Bhatt is a Mumbai-based independent political analyst specializing in security and governance issues. She is co-author of Cost of Conflict between India and Pakistan and Cost of Conflict in Sri Lanka.
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