GS Paper I 2016 · Q12
12½ marks · 200 words Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularismWhat is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer.
Approach · directive: “what / is it / substantiate”
What it asks · First explain what regionalism rests on, then argue with examples whether uneven development is the main driver or only one of several causes.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- What: the basis of regionalism, the roots it grows from
- Is it: take a position on whether unequal distribution of the benefits of development eventually promotes regionalism
- Substantiate the position with Indian examples
Open with · Regionalism is attachment to a region's identity and interests, often expressed as demands for autonomy, a separate State or a larger share of resources.
Cover
- Basis: shared language, ethnicity, religion, history or geography, combined with a sense of relative deprivation and political mobilisation by regional leaders and parties.
- Forms: sons-of-the-soil politics, inter-State disputes, demands for new States (Telangana, Bodoland, Gorkhaland) and, in extreme cases, secessionist movements.
- Yes, uneven development matters: neglected regions such as Telangana, Vidarbha, Bundelkhand and parts of the Northeast feel shut out of investment, irrigation and jobs.
- Not the only cause: regionalism has also arisen in better-off areas such as Punjab, where identity, language and political competition were decisive.
- Political fuel: regional parties and elites turn grievances into vote banks, so perceived neglect becomes an identity issue.
- Remedies: balanced regional development, Finance Commission transfers, special provisions under Article 371, the Northeast ministry DoNER, and forums like Zonal Councils and the Inter-State Council.
Close with · Unequal development is a strong but not sole driver; balanced growth with respect for local identity within cooperative federalism is the durable answer.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 277 words (UPSC limit 200) · Minimalist IAS
Regionalism is a sense of belonging to a region and a politics built around its identity and interests, expressed as demands for autonomy, a separate State or a fairer share of resources.
Basis of regionalism
- Identity: a shared language, ethnicity, religion, culture or history that marks a people off from their neighbours, as in the linguistic States created after 1956.
- Geography and isolation: hill and border regions, such as the Northeast, feel distant from the national mainstream.
- Relative deprivation: the belief that the region gets less than its due in jobs, investment, irrigation or representation.
- Political mobilisation: regional leaders and parties turn these feelings into a programme and a vote base.
Unequal development does promote regionalism
- Telangana: decades of grievance over irrigation, jobs and neglect within Andhra Pradesh built a movement that won statehood in 2014.
- Vidarbha and Bundelkhand: agrarian distress and thin investment keep alive demands for separate States or special packages.
- Jharkhand and the Northeast: resources extracted with little local benefit fuelled statehood and autonomy demands.
- Sons-of-the-soil politics: when migrants are seen to take scarce jobs, as in Maharashtra and Assam, economic competition hardens into regional identity.
But it is not the only cause
- Punjab's demand for a Punjabi Suba, and the Akali politics behind the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, arose in one of India's most prosperous States; language and religion drove them.
- Gorkhaland rests mainly on ethnic identity and the wish for recognition, not on backwardness alone.
Uneven development is a powerful trigger, but it works through identity and politics; balanced regional growth, fair devolution through the Finance Commission and forums like the Inter-State Council, and respect for local identity keep regionalism within cooperative federalism.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.