Regional Aspirations
- Class: 12th
- Subject: Social Science (Political Science)
- Topic: Regional Aspirations
- Resources: Notes, Important Questions
Class 12 Social Science (Political science ) -Regional Aspirations Get notes here, questions for class 12th. Those candidates who are ambitious to pass class 12 with good marks, can check this article for notes, by practicing this resource, the candidates get to know that their weak areas and good for the exam How to prepare
Region and the Nation
In the Indian democratic scenario, people from different regions began to express their aspirations for autonomy. In several regions within various states or across more than one state, there exist grievances among the people. Demands of the state take the form of movement for autonomy, insurgency or creation of a new state out of one or more than one state.
Regional Aspirations here refers to when different regions demand autonomy outside the framework of Indian Union. India in 1980's is characterised with rising regional aspirations, demand for autonomy, armed assertion by people, repression by government and collapse of political and electoral processes.
Indian Approach
A democratic approach was adopted by India to address the issue of diversity. Democracy allows the political expressions of regional aspirations and does not treat them as anti-national. Political parties and groups are allowed to address the issues of people on the basis of their regional identity, aspiration and specific regional problems.
It is held that regional issues will receive adequate attention and accommodation in the policy-making process. Thus, democratic politics in India helps to strengthen the regional aspirations.
Areas of Tension and Conflicts
Issues that emerged after Independence of India were partition, displacement, integration of Princely States, reorganisation of state, etc. Some areas of tensions and conflicts also emerged which are discussed below
The issue of Kashmir emerged not only due to conflict between India and Pakistan. It also emerged due to the political aspirations of people in the form of political autonomy living in the region.
Tensions in North-East region like in Nagaland and Mizoram emerged in the form of strong separatist movements.
In Southern part of India, some groups from the Dravid Movement also believed to emerge as a separate nation.
Regions like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat emerged due to the mass agitations on the basis of language.
Protests were evident in Tamil Nadu region when Hindi was made the official national language of India. On the other hand, in North region agitations were going on for Hindi to be made as the official language.
In the late 1950's, Punjabi speaking people agitated for a separate state. This demand was fulfilled with the creation of Punjab and Haryana in 1966.
The states of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were later created due to their demands for autonomy. Thus, to meet the challenges of diversity the internal boundaries of the country were redrawn by the then government.
Jammu and Kashmir
This region had a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Although, it has experienced issues related to violence, cross-border terrorism and political instability with external and internal consequences. These issues led to the loss of civilian lives, security personnel and militants. Other issue that is evident in this region is the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits on a large-scale basis.
Jammu and Kashmir comprises of three different regions and different people which are discussed as follows
(i) Jammu Region This region is a mix of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and people speaking different languages.
(ii) Kashmir Region This region comprise of Kashmir Valley inhabited by Kashmiri speaking Muslims with small Kashmiri speaking Hindu minority.
(iii) Ladakh Region This region is mountainous with less population comprise of Buddhists and Muslims.
Roots of the Problem
Jammu and Kashmir was a Princely State before 1947. It was ruled by Hindu ruler Hari Singh who didn't want to merge with India or Pakistan. He wanted to have an independent status for Kashmir. The majority of the population in Kashmir was Muslim due to which Pakistan felt that the state belonged to Pakistan. On the other hand, people of the state are Kashmiris who led the issue of regional aspiration known as Kashmiriyat.
In the state, popular movement was led by Sheikh Abdullah of the National Conference as he wanted to get rid of Maharaja Hari Singh. He was also against the notion of joining Pakistan. The National Conference was a secular organisation which was associated with the Congress. Sheikh Abdullah was a known friend of nationalist leaders like Nehru.
Accession' with the Government of India. In October 1947, Pakistan sent tribal infiltrators to capture the region of Kashmir. To protect Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh had to seek India's support. Indian Army pulled the infiltrators out of the Kashmir. This help was extended on the condition that Hari Singh had signed an 'Instrument of
A part of Kashmir was occupied by Pakistan and this issue was raised in the UNO which recommended a three step process to resolve this issue between India and Pakistan.
Firstly, Pakistan had to withdraw from the Kashmir region.
Secondly, India needs to reduce its military forces to maintain law and order.
Thirdly, a plebiscite was to be conducted in a free and impartial manner.
Although, no progress was achieved under this resolution. In March 1948, Sheikh Abdullah took over as the Prime Minister of the Jammu and Kashmir. India agreed to grant provisional autonomy to the state under the Article 370.
External and Internal Disputes
After accession to India, the politics of Jammu and Kashmir became controversial and conflicted because of external and internal reasons.
Externally, Pakistan has always claimed that Kashmir valley should be the part of Pakistan. It sponsored a tribal invasion of the state in 1947 which brought one part of the state Under the control of Pakistan. India claimed that this area is under illegal occupation. Pakistan describes this area as 'Azad Kashmir.' Thus, since 1947, Kashmir has become a major issue of dispute between India and Pakistan.
Internally, there is dispute about the status of Kashmir within the Indian union Kashmir was granted a special status by Article 370 in Indian Constitution. Article 370/ gives greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir as compared to other states of India. The state has its own constitution. All provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable to the state. Law passed by the Parliament apply to J & K only when the state agrees,
The Kashmir Issue
Since its integration with the Union of India, Kashmir has remained one of the burning issues in post-independence India. The problem became more complicated when it was accorded a special status in the Constitution through Article 370 and Article 35A
the former giving it special powers like having its separate Constitution/Constituent Assembly/Flag,
new nomenclature for Chief Minister as Prime Minister and Governor as Sadr-e-Riyasat, and
The non-enforcement of most of the union laws in the state while the later imparting it special citizenship rights prohibiting the non-Kashmiris from buying property in the state.
It was against the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir that there was a clarion call (request for action) for abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. Others equated Article 370 and 35A as 'constitutionally recognised separatism'.
It was against this backdrop that the NDA Government presented the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in Rajya Sabha on 5th August, 2019 for the abolition of Section 370 and 35-A from Kashmir, which was passed by a majority. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 6th August, 2019. After the President's assent on 9th August, 2019, Sections 370 and 35A were repealed and Jammu and Kashmir got divided into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. 1
Politics Since 1948
After becoming the Prime Minister, Sheikh Abdullah commenced major land reforms and other policies for the benefit of common people. On the other hand, there were growing differences between him and the Central Government about his take on Kashmir's status.
He was dismissed in 1953 and kept in detention for few years. His successor Prime Minister was not much popular among masses but ruled the state mainly due to the support of Central Government.
Congress Party greatly influenced the politics of the state during the period of 1953 and 1974. National Conference without Sheikh Abdullah remained in power with the support of Congress but later it got merged with the Congress. Hence, Congress gained control over the government in the state and brought changes according to them.
A change came up in the provision of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir in 1965 by which Prime Minister of the state was now to be designated as Chief Minister of the state. Ghulam Mohammed Sadiy of INC became the first Chief Minister of the state.
In 1974, Indira Gandhi reached on an agreement with Sheikh Abdullah and he became the Chief Minister of the state. He revived the National Conference and got elected with majority in the assembly elections of 1977. After the demise of Sheikh Abdullah in 1982, the leadership of National Conference was given to his son Farooq Abdullah who became the new CM.
Farooq Abdullah was also dismissed by the Governor and this led to resentment among the Kashmiris. The centre intervention in the state politics was further strengthened when the National Conference in 1986 agreed on forming the electoral alliance with Congress.
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
Election results showed a massive victory for the National Conference Congress Alliance and Farooq Abdullah returned as Chief Minister. In the state, there was a common feeling that democratic processes were being undermined at the order of the Centre. The situation caused a political crisis in Kashmir which declined with the rise of insurgency.
By 1989, a militant movement arose around the cause of a separate Kashmiri nation.
The insurgents were provided with moral, material and military support from Pakistan. Due to such insurgency activities, the state was under the President's rule as well as under the Armed forces control. Since 1990, Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing the violence from both insurgents and army action. Assembly elections were held only in 1996 in which the National Conference led by Farooq Abdullah came to power with a demand for regional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2002 elections, the National Conference failed to win a majority. People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress both formed Coalition Government.
Later Developments After 2002
Mufti Mohammed headed the state government for the first three years as per the Coalition agreement succeeded by Ghulam Nabi Azad of Indian National Congress (INC) who could not complete his term due to President Rule in July 2008. After the next elections, Omar Abdullah came into power in 2009 with a Coalition Government composed of National Conference and INC.
However, the state still witnessed disturbances in his tenure witnessed highest voter turnout in 25 years. A coalition led by the Hurriyat Conference. In 2014 elections, the state government was formed led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed (PDP) with BJP. After the demise of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, his daughter Mahbooba Mufti became the first women Chief Minister in April 2016.
During her tenure, major acts of terrorism, mounting external; and internal tensions were witnessed. The President's rule was imposed in June 2018 after BJP withdrew its support to the State Government. On 5th August, 2019, Article 370 was abolished by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019. The state now constitutes two Union Territories i.e. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Both these Union Territories present us the examples of plural society in India.
Very short questions :
1. Who took over as the PM of Jammu and Kashmir in March 1948?
2. By What act Article 370 was abolished?
3. What was the Slogan of Dravidian Movement?
4. DMK was split into two parties, namely and
5. When was the process of re-organisation in North-East was completed?
Punjab
The era of 1980's saw major developments in the state of Punjab. There was a change in the social composition of the state after the partition and later on with the separation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Punjab was reorganised on linguistic basis in 1966. The Akali Dal was formed in 1920 as the political wing of the Sikhs. It led the movement for the formation of a 'Punjabi Suba'.
Political Context
After the reorganisation in 1966, the Akalis formed the coalition governments in 1967 and then in 1977. They realised the fact that their political position remained uncertain in nature because
Centre had dismissed their government in the mid-way of its term.
They didn't enjoy strong support among the Hindus.
The Sikh Community like, all other religious communities was internally differentiated on caste and class lines. As the Congress got more support among the Dalits whether Hindu or Sikh than the Akalis.
In the 1970's, a section of Akalis started to demand political autonomy for the region. This was evident during their conference at Anandpur Sahib in 1973. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution advocated regional autonomy and it wanted to redefine the centre-state relationship in the country. The resolution was basically developed for strengthening federalism, but it was also interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh nation.
The Anandpur Sahib Resolution had a limited appeal among the common masses. In 1980, Akali Dal government had been dismissed then they launched a movement regarding the distribution of water between Punjab and its neighbouring states. Religious leaders raised the question of autonomous Sikh identity as well as more extreme elements advocated succession from India and creation of Khalistan.
Cycle of Violence
The leadership of the Akali movement shifted from the moderate Akalis to the extremist elements which further took the form of armed insurgency. Insurgency is often assumed as identical with terrorism, although there are differences between them. The insurgent tends to use similar kind of violent activities as terrorist do.
The militants made their headquarters inside the holy shrine, the Golden Temple (Amritsar) and turned it into an armed fortress. In June 1984, the Government of India carried out the 'Operation Blue Star which was the code name for the army action. In this operation, government was successful in defeating the militants, but it also damaged the historic temple which deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs. They saw this military operation as an attack on their faith. This further enhanced the militant and extremist groups.
(The Punjab crises became more complicated when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October, 1984 by her two Sikh bodyguards) (They wanted to take revenge for Operation Blue Star. This incident shocked the entire country and this led to violence against the Sikh Community in Northern part of India. This violence continued upto a week. A
It was estimated that more than two thousand Sikhs were killed in Delhi. Hundreds of Sikhs were also killed in other parts of the country like Kanpur, Bokaro and Chas. Many Sikh families lost their male members and suffered great emotional and financial loss. The government took long time in restoring normalcy and get the offenders punished for this violence.
Road to Peace
The new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi initiated a discussion with moderate Akali leaders in 1984. In July 1985, he signed an agreement known as Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord or the Punjab Accord with Harchand Singh Longowal, the then President of Akali Dal. This agreement was a step towards bringing normalcy to Punjab.
Following points were discussed in this agreement
It was agreed that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab and a separate commission would be appointed to resolve the border dispute between Punjab and Haryana.
was also agreed to setup a tribunal to decide the sharing of Ravi-Beas river water among Punjab, Haryana and. Rajasthan.
It was agreed to provide compensation to and better treatment of those affected by the militancy in Punjab and withdrawal of the application of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Punjab.
Akali Dal became fragmented and President's rule was imposed in the state and normal electoral and political process was suspended. In 1992 election, Punjab had only 24 per cent voters turn out. Militancy was finally eradicated by the security forces. But the people of Punjab-Sikhs and Hindus suffered enormous loses. Peace returned to Punjab in the middle of 1990s.
The alliance of Akali Dal (Badal) and BJP scored a major victory in 1997, in the first normal elections in the state in the post militancy era.
North-East Region
This region consists of seven sisters or states comprising only 4% of country's population. A small corridor of 22 connects this region with India. Region also shares its boundary with China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It also serves as India's gateway to South-East Asia.
This region has witnessed change since independence like as follows
Princely states like Tripura, Manipur and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya were merged with India after Independence.
Political reorganisation has been evident in the entire region like Nagaland was created in 1963. Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya were created in 1972 while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh came up as a separate state in 1987.
After the partition of India, the North-East region was reduced to a land-locked region which has affected its economy. The region also suffered neglect in development and its politics also remained isolated.
Most of the states in this region have gone through demographic changes due to migrations from neighbouring states and countries.
The politics of North-East was dominated by three issues that include
Demands for Autonomy
• Movements for Secession
- Opposition to outsiders
- Demands for Autonomy
The state of Assam after the independence was comprised o entire region except Manipur and Tripura. There were demands for political autonomy when the Assam Government was imposing Assamese language on the non-Assamese people. Assam government faced major protest riots throughout the state and a demand for separate was presented by tribal communities' leaders from Assam.
Eastern India Tribal Union was formed which later chanard tribal state from Assam was demanded but instead of one state several states were carved out of Assam. The Government of India created the states of Meghalaya. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh out of Assam. Tripura ad Manipur were also upgraded as the states by the Central Government.
The process of reorganisation in the North-East was completed by 1972. But still there were demands for autonomy in the region like by the Bodos, Karbis and Dimasas communities, Although these demands were not fulfilled but to satisfy their autonomy demands Karbis and Dimasas were granted autonomy under District Councils Similarly, Bodos were granted separate Autonomous Council.
Reasons for the Demands of Autonomy
The demands for autonomy in the region were raised as people felt discriminated by the more resourceful regions in economic, social, cultural or political aspects.
Their region is not given adequate representation in political institutions in the state, and decisions about them are taken by the governments without their involvement.
Secessionist Movements
The demands for autonomy are under the provisions of Constitution but the difficulties arose when states started demanding a separate country. There were secessionist movements for autonomy in North-Eastern regions of Mizoram and Nagaland which are discussed below
Mizoram
After Independence, people of the Mizo Hills believed that they were never a part of British India and thus they deserved a separate union. The people of Mizo Hills launched a movement against the government. Movement gained momentum after the Assam Government failed to respond to the great famine of 1959 in Mizo Hills.
This movement further led to the formation of the Mizo National Front (MNF) under the leadership of Laldenga. In 1966, the MNF started armed campaign for independence. Mizo fought a guerrilla war against the Indian Army, and got support from the Pakistani Government. Indian forces countered it with a series of repressive means with the common people as victims. This insurgency caused more anger and alienation among the common people.
Negotiations were started with the Indian Government by Laldenga when he came back from exile in Pakistan. In 1986, peace agreement was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Laldenga and Laldenga became the Chief Minister. This accord helped Mizoram to remain a peaceful place since then with high literacy and development.
Nagaland
A section of the Nagas under the leadership of Angami Zaphu Phizo declared independence from India in 1951. Phizo turned down many offers of negotiations. The Naga National Council started an armed struggle for the sovereignty of Nagas. After violent insurgency, a section of the Nagas signed an agreement with Government of India. But on the other hand, rebels didn't accept this agreement and still the final resolution on this problem is awaited.
Movements Against Outsiders
( Large scale migration of people has created problems for the people of North-East. These people were seen as 'outsiders or migrants' or encroachers on the scarce resources of the region. They were also considered as competitors to employment opportunities and political power. For instance, the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985 was such a movement against the 'outsiders'. A major chunk of Bengali Muslims entered the region from Bangladesh. They felt that it will abolish the true identity and the indigenous people of Assam.
Assam and National Integration
In 1979, All Assam Students Union (AASU) was formed as an anti-foreigner movement, This movement was against the illegal migrations, domination of Bengalis and other outsiders as well as against faulty voters' register. The movement demanded all the outsiders should be sent back who had entered the state after 1951. All sections of Assamese people were mobilised in this movement. It also involved many violent incidents leading to loss of property and human lives. This movement tried to block the movement of trains to stop the supply of oil from Assam to refineries in Bihar.
After six years of turmoil, Rajiv Gandhi government took up negotiations with the AASU leaders. In 1985, an accord was signed for all those immigrants who entered Assam during the Bangladesh war were to be deported. Assam accord brought peace and changed the nature of politics in Assam but didn't help to solve the issue of immigration.
The Members of AASU came together and formed a regional political party known as Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). This party came to power in 1985 to resolve the foreign national problem as well as to build a Golden Assam.
Very short questions:
1. The Akali Dal was formed in
2. When did the Punjab crises became more complicated?
3. 'Operation Blue Star was carried out in
4. Name the countries which share border with North-East States.
5. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh became separate state in which year? 1987?