साम्प्रदायिकता और क्षेत्रवाद की चुनौतियों के बावजूद विविधता में एकता भारतीय समाज की मुख्य विशेषता बनी हुई है। टिप्पणी कीजिए।
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Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “comment”
Decode the demand
- Directive 'comment': give an evidence-backed opinion on a statement, not a description. The statement has two halves: unity in diversity is defining, and it holds despite communalism and regionalism.
- Three things to answer: what binds India together, how the two strains hurt it, and your verdict on whether the binding still wins.
- The trap: listing festivals and languages, then listing riots, with no judgement. The examiner wants a reasoned position on the word 'remains'.
Think in a structure
- Open with a concept (NCERT's 'state-nation') and one fact on diversity, then turn to the test the question poses.
- One heading per half: binding forces in dimensions (civilisation, Constitution, federalism, daily life), then the two strains with how each shows up; a short assessment heading gives the verdict.
- Visuals: a hub for the binding forces, a table that pairs each strain with how India absorbs it; both drawable in half a minute.
- End positively: concrete renewals (EBSB pairings, fair institutions, cooperative federalism), then Ambedkar's idea of fraternity as the anchor.
Facts checked at source (2)· open
- Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat was announced by the Prime Minister on 31 October 2015, Sardar Patel's 140th birth anniversary.Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme — PIB, September 2020 ↗“Ek Bharat Shresta Bharat was announced by PM on 31st October 2015, the 140th birth anniversary of the Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel”
- Under EBSB, each State or UT is paired with another for a year of cultural engagement.Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme — PIB, September 2020 ↗“every state and union territory would be paired with another State/UT for a year”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 446words · Minimalist IAS
NCERT calls India a 'state-nation': many religious, linguistic and ethnic identities live under one state without being asked to merge. With 22 Scheduled Languages and every major faith, this unity rests on accommodation, not uniformity, which is why communalism and regionalism test it rather than end it.
What makes unity in diversity the defining feature
Unity in diversity: shared civilisation; secular Constitution; accommodating federalism; everyday integration; democratic politics
- Civilisational bonds: pilgrimage circuits, Bhakti and Sufi syncretism and the freedom struggle gave a shared memory before a shared state.
- Nehru's 'unity amidst diversity' in The Discovery of India; Amartya Sen's argumentative tradition of dialogue across faiths.
- Constitutional glue: secularism as basic structure (S.R. Bommai, 1994), minority rights (Articles 25–30) and the Article 51A(e) duty to promote harmony.
- Accommodating federalism: the States Reorganisation Commission (1953) led to linguistic states from 1956; three new states in 2000 met tribal and regional aspirations.
- Article 371 and the Sixth Schedule offer special arrangements, so aspiration need not become secession.
- Everyday integration: national markets, migration, the armed forces, cinema and cricket bind daily life across regions.
Challenges from communalism and regionalism
- Communalism is politics, not religion: Bipan Chandra reads it as a modern ideology; riots, hate speech and online polarisation erode inter-community trust.
- Regionalism in its strains: sons-of-the-soil politics, river and language disputes and statehood demands stretch the federal compact.
- Cauvery (Supreme Court, 2018) and the 1965 anti-Hindi protests were settled by courts and politics, not arms.
| Strain | How it shows | How India absorbs it |
|---|---|---|
| Communalism | Riots, polarisation | Secularism, minority rights, courts |
| Regionalism | Statehood, language rows | Linguistic and new states, Article 371 |
Does unity in diversity still hold?
- Resilience within democracy: both strains have been fought at the ballot and in courts, not by breaking the Union; NCERT notes the gap lies in practice, not law.
- Qualified verdict: diversity is secure; what weakens is fraternity, the daily trust Ambedkar placed beside liberty and equality.
Way forward
- Renew cultural exchange: Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (2015) pairs each State or UT with another for a year of cultural engagement.
- Fair institutions: impartial policing of hate speech and standing district peace committees; the 2nd ARC's 7th report, Friction to Fusion, treats conflict resolution as a capacity to build.
- Cooperative federalism: an active Inter-State Council (Article 263) and river boards to settle disputes before they harden.
- Civic education: constitutional values and mother-tongue learning under NEP 2020 build the habit of living with difference.
Ambedkar warned the Constituent Assembly that without fraternity, liberty and equality would need a constable to enforce them; unity in diversity remains defining as long as that fraternity is renewed through fair institutions, shared culture and a Constitution that lets every identity belong.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
