Also: regional identity, sub-nationalism, sons of the soil, regional movements
Definition
A sense of loyalty and identity attached to a particular region, based on language, culture, history or economic interests, which can strengthen democracy through regional voice or strain national unity when it turns exclusive or separatist.
India's diversity of language, religion, ethnicity and geography made regional identity a natural part of its politics. During the freedom movement, the Congress reorganised its own provincial units on linguistic lines in 1920 under the Nagpur session. After independence, national leaders feared that linguistic states might weaken unity after Partition, and the Dar Commission and the JVP committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya) advised caution. But popular movements, especially the death of Potti Sriramulu after a fast for a Telugu-speaking state in 1952, forced the government to create Andhra State in 1953.
The States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali Commission) reported in 1955, leading to the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which created fourteen states and six union territories broadly along linguistic lines. Later, Bombay was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960, Punjab and Haryana were separated in 1966, and northeastern states were created in the 1960s to 1980s. Regional parties such as the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the Akali Dal in Punjab and the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam emerged as strong voices of regional aspirations.
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