Ram Rattan Sharma
The data collected so far indicates the widening of regional disparities in India, it is cumulative and alarming. The Planning Commission, Finance Commission and National Development council must note down the growing relative deprivation and note disparities. The norms of democracy and feelings of nationalism can only be preserved by ensuring balanced regional growth and development. The resources must be allocated accordingly, if not, then resources will have to be divested in maintaining the law and order. This kind of consumption of resources is called conspicuous consumption. Factors like geographical isolation cannot be treated as an excuse.
The British Govt. in India made the Zamindars as the buffers in the permanent settlement. As result of this all the peasant revolts, before the advent of Gandhi Ji were directed against the Zamindars and not the Britishers. This was only because they could not see beyond the Zamindars. To them, the Zamindars were the states. After 1857 revolt, the British changed their policies of intervention of the people in the social life. They did not want to be identified with the rulers of India. They knew that it was the most effective weapon to dissipate the future sense of nationalism. History tells us that the feeling of regionalism was more palpable on us then the feeling of nationalism. For this, the people are not responsible, the perception of the rulers and the state is responsible for this. The state has comprehensively failed to make people feel its presence. After independence, the situation has changed but the old approach dieshard. The approach of leaders and bureaucrats has not even changed. They deliberately maintain the distance from the common man to the extent of anonymity . They do not know the problems of people and people do not know them. They are aliens in their own land and their relationship is of strangers. A common man tries to approach apathetic officials. They are not accessible. These officials are the representatives of the government. The common man suffers. The result is obvious. The people are divided on many parochial lines. Some on caste, some on religion some on profession and a very few on national lines. This boosts the sectarian politics. In India today, even only a 15% mandate enables a party or a group of parties to form a Govt. therefore, a party cares only for those who matter to them. The mandate is fractured.
The sectarian politics fails to protect and promote abstract sections of society and the basic duty of the state remains unfulfilled. The people solve their problems by creating their own leaders for their own, a cause which is very much different from the cause of others. There is no uniform interest. The interest is sometimes different and sometimes diametrically opposed. These feelings are detrimental to nationalism, such feelings are collectively called regionalism. Individual prefers a particular region because of his different interests, language, caste, or ethnicity, particular social setting and cultural patterns, folk dance, music, folks arts, etc planning politics, the language politics have considerably contributed to the rise and growth of regionalism.
This growing feeling is not good in the spate of globalization, a lack of balanced economic growth of all parts and regions, the neglected masses, the selfish politician and creation of linguistic states are supposed to be the major causes of regionalism. These are the effects and not the cause. There is only one cause. The apathy of the state due to the unconcerned bureaucrats and legislators. This feeling may come either due to the continuous neglect of a particular area or region by the ruling authorities. Economic imbalances are one of the gravest forms of regional imbalance. Correcting economic imbalances will go a long way in sorting out the problem of regionalism. The main challenges to India’s efforts at building a new national identity by coalescing its multilingual population, action around a unified consciousness could be identified at two points:
a. Inadequate distribution of goods and services, resulting in economic disparity and rampant poverty.
b. Persistence of Socio economic inequality between and within the rural and urban segments of the people.
In the era of globalization one disturbing trend that has emerged, is the growing regional disparities. The process of globalization seems to have significantly widened the gulf between the economically depressing states and relatively better off states. This tells us that free forces of liberalization won’t solve the regional disparities, infact, they can aggravate them. It is here that the role of the state becomes crucial. In the under developed regions, it is pertinent for the state to invest massively in all forms of public and structural infrastructure. Public investment in social infrastructure is indispensable to create a better conducive environment for private capital investment. The state must not forget that it is a state, that it has certain duties to perform. In democracy a welfare state is an absolute must. The Govt. must continue to protect the weaker sections and infant indigenous industries. If we initiate a number of measures, things could improve. The major initiatives are a proper survey of the entire state and their regions and areas, after survey positive and negative aspects must be identified, then the areas must be developed as per their requirements, in doing so areas must be developed in such a manner that they must depend on other regions to survive, the training and recruitment system of civil servants must be changed, the training and promotion must be based on the recommendations of the general body meeting of the local bodies, the central Govt. should directly transfer the funds to the panchyats for their development, the central Govt. should try to create a sense of competition amongst the various Panchayats by formulating special incentive schemes for them.
Further the balanced regional development does not mean equal development of all the regions in the country. It simply implies the fullest development of the potentialities of an area according to its capacity, so that the inhabitants of all the regions share benefits of over all economic growth. Balanced regional growth does not mean a uniform economic pattern but it implies having economic growth keeping in mind a topography, resources, economic feasibility and the people of the region concerned.
Development should be made the most important agenda of the Govt. Lack of development or even development in certain regions is a big factor in fostering regionalism. In the development process, every region must get the opportunity to develop itself up to its potential and resources. This will act as a catalyst in arresting the spirit of regionalism from attaining dangerous proportions. At the same time the negative aspects of globalization could be only realized, when we are fully prepared to eliminate the loopholes otherwise the negative would be fatal for both the nation and nationalism.
Construction of nation needs more sacrifice than the making of a region and for that regional planning has to be strengthened and for this, the process of planning will have to be further decentralized and prioritized and specific proposals should be put forward at the district and regional levels, the benefits of central Govt. subsidy for industrial development should be effectively and widely utilized for productive purposes, there is a need to create special categories for backward areas like the desert areas and hilly areas.
For this, the system of governance is not required to be changed, but only the attitude and approach of governance has to be changed. The growing spate of terrorism, secessionism, naxalism can be seen under a broad spectrum. The sense of relative deprivation, growing disparities at both national and global level has assumed a dangerous proposition. All the concerned authorities must realize that time has come to take serious note of it, and work on that, if it is delayed this time then nobody will be left to be blamed.
(The Author is former Dy Librarian University of Jammu)
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