Regional Aspirations (Class XII)

REGIONAL ASPIRATIONS
PRESENTED BY- SADHNA SHARMA
HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)

SADHNA SHARMA

REGIONAL MOVEMENTS INVOLVE-
1 Armed assertion by the people.
2 Their repression by the government.
3 A collapse of the political electoral process.
SADHNA SHARMA

BASIC PRINCIPLE OF THE INDIAN APPROACH
TO DIVERSITY-
1 The Indian nation shall not deny the right of
different regions and linguistic groups to retain their
own culture.
2 Even Indian nationalism sought to balance the
principles of unity and diversity.
SADHNA SHARMA

HOW DO REGIONAL MOVEMENTS
CONCLUDE?
In negotiated settlements or accords b/w the
Central government and the groups leading the
movement for autonomy.
SADHNA SHARMA

CHALLENGE OF DIVERSITY MET BY INDIAN NATION
The challenge of diversity was met by redrawing the
internal boundaries of the country. For example the
states of Punjab and Haryana were created in 1966.
The states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and
Uttaranchal were created in 2000.
SADHNA SHARMA

DESCRIPTION OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR-
Kashmir Region- The heart of the Kashmir
region is Kashmir Valley, the people are
Kashmiri speaking and mostly Muslim with a
small Kashmiri speaking Hindu minority.
Jammu Region- It is a mixed of foothills and
plains, of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs and
speakers of various languages.
Ladakh Region- This region is mountainous
and has very little population which is equally
divided b/w Buddhist and Muslims.
SADHNA SHARMA

NATURE OF KASHMIR -
The Kashmir issue is always seen as a major issue b/w
India and Pakistan. But the political situation is the state has
many dimensions.
The issue has external and internal dimensions. It
involves the issue of Kashmir identity known as Kashmiriyat
and the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for
political autonomy.
SADHNA SHARMA

SIGNIFICANCE OF ARTICLE 370 OF OUR
CONSTITUTION-
1 Article 370 of the Constitution signifies special
status for Kashmir.
2 Article 370 gives greater autonomy to Jammu
and Kashmir.
3 It also specifies that the state has its own
Constitution.
4 All provisions of the constitution are not
applicable to the state.
SADHNA SHARMA

VARIOUS POSITIONS ON THE ISSUE OF REGIONAL
AUTONOMY FOR KASHMIR
The state of Jammu and Kashmir comprises three distinct
geographical units i.e. Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh.
Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on
26th October, 1947 and thus Jammu and Kashmir became a
part of India. Article 370 is included in the Indian
Constitution in order to satisfy the political aspirations of
Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 gives special status to
Jammu and Kashmir. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has its
own constitution, separate flag and separate law of
citizenship. Changes in Article 370 can be made by the
Parliament but with the consent of the government of
Jammu and Kashmir.
SADHNA SHARMA

TWO OPPOSITE VIEWS
This special status of Jammu and Kashmir has provoked two
opposite reactions.
•One view is that Article 370 should be scrapped and should
be removed from the constitution
• Some people favor retaining Article 370 in the
constitution.
SADHNA SHARMA

WHICH OF THE VIEW IS JUSTIFIABLE-
In our opinion special status given to Jammu and
Kashmir under Article 370 should be maintained due
to the following reasons-
•Scrapping of Article 370 would be a breach of faith
not only with the leaders of National Conference,
but also with the Constituent Assembly of the state
and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
SADHNA SHARMA

•Article 370 can be scrapped only by the method of
amendment in the constitution which is not easy because
National Parties like Indian National Congress, CPI, and CPI
(M) favor the retention of Article 370.
•With the passage of time many parts of India constitution
particularly I, II, III and the Preamble are applicable to
Jammu and Kashmir with certain modifications.
•Under- IV Amendment Act 1963 of the Constitution of
Jammu and Kashmir the Judges of the High Court can be
transferred from one state to the other state.
•The Supreme Court of India is supreme and final court for
the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
SADHNA SHARMA

•Articles 356 and 357 of the Indian Constitution have
been extended to Jammu and Kashmir.
•The financial relations b/w Union and Jammu and
Kashmir are the same as are b/w the Union and
other states.
On the basis of above discussion regarding Article
370 it is clear that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral
part of India but it enjoys special status and a unique
position in the Indian Constitution. Under the
present circumstances it is not easy to scrap or to
delete Article 370. It is only possible when political
parties and people of Jammu and Kashmir demand
the scrapping of Article 370.
SADHNA SHARMA

ROLE OF CONGRESS IN THE
POLITICS OF JAMMU AND
KASHMIR
During most of the period b/w 1953
and 1974 the congress exercised a lot
of influence on the politics of the
Jammu and Kashmir.
1 National Conference remained in
power with the support of Congress
for sometime but later it merged
with the Congress.
2 The Congress gained direct control
over the government in the state.
SADHNA SHARMA

3 The Congress Party also made several attempts to
reach an agreement b/w Sheikh Abdullah and the
Government of India.
4 Finally in 1974 Indira Gandhi reached an
agreement with Sheikh and he became the Chief
Minister of the state. SADHNA

DIFFERENT FORMS OF SEPARATIST POLICIES OF
KASHMIR
The different forms of separatist policies of Kashmir are-
1 There are some separatists who want Kashmir as
independent state.
2 There are some separatists who want Kashmir to merge
with Pakistan.
3 Besides these, there are many groups who wants
greater autonomy for the people of Kashmir within the
Indian Union.
4 Therefore, the demand for the intra-state autonomy is
as strong as the demand for the state autonomy.
But, later in present scenario instead of demanding a
separate nation, most of the separatists in dialogue are
trying to re-negotiate a relationship of the state with India.
SADHNASHARM

DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT-
The Dravidian movement was one of the first regional movements in
Indian politics.
1 This movement did not take to arms. It used democratic means like
public debates and the electoral platform to achieve its ends.
2 When the leaders realized that the creation of ‘Independent Dravid
State’ was not possible, then they took this demand back and started
working for getting more autonomy for the state with in Federal
structure of India.
3 And this strategy paid off as the movement acquired political power
in the state and also became influential at the national level.
•In this way the movement led to the formation of Dravid Kazhagam
(DK) under the leadership of Tamil Social Reformer E.V Ramasamy
Periyar. SADHNA SHARMA

•Even Today the two most important political parties of
Tamil Nadu DMK and AIADMK were the supporter of giving
more autonomy to the state within the Indian Union and
were playing an important role in regional and national
politics.
SADHNA SHARMA

ANANDPUR SAHIB
RESOLUTION
SADHNA SHARMA

ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION
There are many reasons to be controversial of Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Some of
them are as under-
1 It was in this context that during the 1970s a section of Akalis began to demand
political autonomy for the region. This was reflected in a resolution passed at their
conference at Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1973.
2 The Anandpur Sahib Resolution asserted regional autonomy and wanted to
redefine centre-state relationship in the country.
3 The Resolution also spoke of the aspiration of the Sikh qaum and declared its goal
as attaining the bolbala of the Sikhs.
SADHNA SHARMA

4 The Resolution was a plea for
strengthening Federalism, but it could also
be interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh
nation.
5 The resolution had a limited appeal
among the Sikh masses. A few years later,
after the Akali Government has been
dismissed in 1980, the Akali Dal launched a
movement on the question of the
distribution of water b/w Punjab and its
neighboring states.
Soon, the leadership of the movement
passed from the moderate Akalis' to the
Extremist elements and took the form of
armed insurgency. Thus, in this background
the Anandpur Sahib Resolution became
controversial as it was held responsible for
the insurgency in Punjab.
SADHNA SHARMA

PROBLEM OF PUNJAB IN THE
CONTEXT OF OPERATION BLUE STAR
1. The leadership of Akali
Movement passed from the
moderate Akalis’ to extremist
elements which took the form of
armed insurgency.
2. Some of these militants made
their headquarter inside the holy
shrine the Golden Temple in
Amritsar.
3. In June 1984, the
Government of India carried out
‘Operation Blue Star’ code name
for army action in the Golden
Temple. SADHNA SHARMA

4. In this operation, the government could successfully flush out
the militants, but it also damaged the historic temple and deeply hurt
the sentiments of the Sikhs.
5. A large proportion of Sikhs in India and abroad saw the military
operation as an attack on their faith and this gave further impetus to
militant and extremist groups.
SADHNA SHARMA

ASSASSINATION OF INDIRA GANDHI
SADHNA SHARMA

MURDER OF INDIRA GANDHI
1. Still more tragic turn of events complicated the Punjab problem
further.
2. The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October
1984 outside her residence by her bodyguards.
3. Both the assassins were Sikhs and wanted to take revenge for
‘Operation Blue Star.’
4. The entire country was shocked with this development and in
response in Delhi and other parts of Northern India violence broke out
against the Sikh community.
SADHNA

5. The violence against the Sikhs continued for almost one week.
6. More than two thousand Sikhs were killed in the National Capital,
the area worst affected by this violence.
7. Hundreds of Sikhs were killed in other parts of the country like
Kanpur and Bokaro.
8. Many Sikh families lost their male members and thus suffered a
great financial loss.
SADHNA

REGRET OF PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN
SINGH
20 years later, speaking in the Parliament in 2005,
Prime Minister ManMohan Singh expressed regret
over these killing and apologized to the nation for
the anti-Sikh violence.
SADHNA

MAIN PROVISIONS OF PUNJAB ACCORD-
The Punjab Accord was an agreement signed b/w the
then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand
Singh Longowal. This agreement is known as the
Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord or the Punjab Accord.
SADHNA SHARMA

MAIN PROVISIONS OF THIS ACCORD-
1 Under this accord it was agreed that Chandigarh would be
transferred to Punjab.
2 A separate Commission would be appointed to solve the
border dispute b/w Punjab and Haryana.
3 A tribunal would be set up to decide the sharing of Ravi-
Beas water among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
4 Haryana will be given Rs 1000 crore to build its own
separate capital.
5 Adequate compensation will be given to the families
affected due to militancy in Punjab.
6 Armed Force Special Powers Act in Punjab would be
withdrawn.
7 The elections of Legislative Assembly shall be held soon in
Punjab.
SADHNA

However peace did not come easily. The cycle of violence
continued nearly for a decade.
1 Militancy and counter insurgency violence led to excesses
by the police and violation of the human Rights.
2 Politically it led to the fragmentation of Akali Dal.
3 Thus the Central Government had to impose President
Rule in the state and normal electoral and political process
was suspended.
4 It was not easy to restore the political process in the
atmosphere of suspicion and violence. For Example when
elections were held in Punjab in 1992, only 24% of the
electors turned out to vote. After this the Assembly
elections were held in Punjab in 1997 in which Shiromani
Akali Dal and BJP alliance got majority and coalition
government was formed under the leadership of S. Parkash
Singh Badal. SADHNA SHARMA

SEVEN SISTERS-
The North-East region which consists of seven states-
Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal
Pradesh and Mizoram is referred to as seven sisters. This
region has only 4% of the country’s population.
SADHNA SHARMA

ALL REGIONAL MOVEMENTS NEED NOT LEAD TO SEPARATIST DEMANDS.
There is a great reality that all regional movements need not lead to
separatist demands.
1. The inhabitants of Mizo Hills in Assam demanded secession from
the Indian union and established Mizo National Front to get their
demands fulfilled.
2. The Mizo organized armed agitation and commenced guerilla
warfare.
3.The MNF was banned during Chinese aggression.
.
SADHNA SHARMA

4. The government, keeping their aspirations in view decided to make
Mizo hill area a U.T., which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister
Smt. Indira Gandhi on 21st January, 1972.
5. It was named Mizoram.
6. However, Mizo headed by Laldenga was not satisfied with this
agreement.
7. Ultimately in 1986, a peace agreement between Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi and Laldenga.
8. Under this agreement Mizoram was elevated from the status of a
Union Territory to be the 23rd state of India. Laldenga was made the
Chief Minister of Mizoram.
SADHNA SHARMA

Not only this in the 80s militancy had erupted in
Punjab, students in Assam were agitating, Kashmir
valley was on the boil. Instead of treating these as
simple law and order problems, the Government of
India reached negotiated settlement with regional
movements.
All these examples show that the meaningful
and justified regional movement need not lead to
separatist demands or encouraged to separatism.
SADHNA

ASSAM MOVEMENT WAS A COMBINATION OF CULTURAL PRIDE AND ECONOMIC
BACKWARDNESS
1. Assam movement was a combination of cultural and economic backwardness because it
was against outsiders to maintain the cultural integration of Assam.
2. Besides, there was economic problem also due to foreigners. In Assam there was
unemployment and poverty and Assamese considers foreigners responsible for economic
problems.
3. In 1979 the All Assam Student Union, led anti-foreigner movement and their demands
were—
a) The people who have come illegally from Bangladesh should be sent back.
b) All outsiders who had entered the state after 1951 should be sent back.
c) The names entered illegally in the voters list should be detected.
d) The dominance of Non-Assamese in civil administration should be ended.
SADHNA

4. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made serious efforts to solve
the problems of foreigners. Negotiations took place in
March 1985 and ultimately an agreement was signed on 15
August 1985, by the Assam agitation leaders and Union
Home Affair secretary.
5. Under this agreement the base date for the detention and
deletion of foreigners was fixed as 1 January 1966. All the
persons who come to Assam after 1 January, 1966 and
before 24 March, 1971 were to be detected in accordance
with the Foreigners Act 1946.
6. The names of all such persons were to be deleted from
the voters list for 10 years and thereafter these names were
to be restored in the voters list.
SADHNA SHARMA

Assam Assembly elections were held in December
1986. Assam Gana Parishad a political party formed
by the leader of AASU and Assam Gana Sangram
Parishad, emerged victorious and formed
government under Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.
SADHNA

ASSAM ACCORD
Assam Accord was signed b/w Rajiv Gandhi led
government and AASU leaders over the issue of
‘outsiders’ in 1985.
1 According to this those foreigners who migrated
into Assam during and after Bangladesh war and
since, were to be identified and deported.
2 As a follow up to the accord the AASU and the
Asom Gana Sangram Parishad organized themselves
as a regional party called Asom Gana Parishad.(AGP)
3 It came to power in 1985 with the promise of
resolving the foreign nationals as well as to build a
‘Golden Assam’.
SADHNA SHARMA

ONE SIMILARITY AND ONE DIFFERENCE B/W
THE CRISIS IN PUNJAB AND ASSAM DURING
1980S
SIMILARITY-
Assam Movement and Punjab Movement have one
major similarity. The Assam Movement demanded
that foreigners should be send back. The Assamese
suspected that there were huge numbers of illegal
Bengali Muslim settlers from Bangladesh. Similarly,
Akali Dal led the movement in Punjab for the
formation of Punjabi Suba to protect the interests of
Punjabi.
SADHNA SHARMA

DIFFERENCE-
Assam Movement was against the foreigners i.e
outsiders from Bangladesh. The movement was led
by All Assam Students’ Union which was not
affiliated to any political party. But Punjab
Movement was led by Akali Dal for the formation of
Punjabi Suba on the basis of language.
SADHNA SHARMA

WHEN AND HOW SIKKIM WAS
MERGED IN INDIA?
1 Sikkim was a protectorate of India. It meant
that while it was not a part of India , it was also not a
fully sovereign country .
2 Sikkim’s defence and foreign relations were
looked after by India while the power of internal
administration was with the Chogyal, Sikkim’s
monarch. This arrangement ran into difficulty as
Chogyal was unable to deal with the democratic
aspirations of the people.
3 An overwhelming majority of sikkim’s
population was Nepali. But Chogyal was seen as
perpetuating the rule of small elite from the minority
Lepcha- Bhutia community.
4 The anti-Chogyal leaders of both the
communities ought and got support from the
government of India.
SADHNA

5 The first democratic elections to Sikkim assembly in
1974 were swept by Sikkim Congress which stood for greater
integration with India.
6 The assembly first sought the status of ‘associate state’
and then in April 1975 passed a resolution asking for full
integration with India.
7 This was followed by referendum that put a stamp of
popular approval of the assembly’s request.
8 The Indian parliament accepted this request
immediately and Sikkim became 22nd state of the Indian
Union.
9 Chogyal did not accept this merger. Yet the merger
enjoyed popular support and did not become divisive issue
in Sikkim’s politics.
SADHNA SHARMA

REGIONAL ASPIRATIONS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA
EXAMPLIFY THE PRINCIPLE OF UNITY WITH DIVERSITY/
LESSON WE DRAW FROM THE CHAPTER REGIONAL
ASPIRATIONS/ LESSON WE LEARN FROM THE FEELING OF
ALIENATION IN SOME PARTS OF INDIA.
1.Regional Aspirations Are Part Of Democratic System- India is a
largest democratic country in the world. To make democratic system
successful it is essential that India should deal with regional
aspirations on a regular basis because expression of regional
aspiration is not an abnormal phenomenon. Even in small countries
people are having regional aspirations.
SADHNA SHARMA

2.Best Way- Democratic negotiation is the best way to
respond to the regional aspirations. Suppression of regional
aspirations is not in the interest of national unity. For
example-Mizoram problem was solved by Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi through negotiations. Assam problem was
solved by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi through negotiation
with the leader of agitated group.
SADHNA SHARMA

3.Power Sharing-
Regional aspirations can be fulfilled by sharing
power. Every region should have an important role in
deciding the destiny of the nation and to achieve this
objective it is essential that regional parties or
groups or leaders should share powers at the state
level and even at the centre.
SADHNA

4.Regional Imbalance In Economic Development- If some
states economically developed rapidly and some states remain
backward and poor, it leads to regional imbalance and inter-regional
migration. People of backward states have lost faith in democracy and
they follow the path of agitations, protests, movements, etc. For
example –Assam Movement on the issue of foreign nationals is the
result of regional imbalance.
SADHNA SHARMA

5.Wisdom And
Foresightedness Of The
Makers Of The
Constitution- Framers of the
Indian constitution were not only
wise but foresighted also in
dealing with the problem of
diversity. Federal system is
adopted in India with flexibility.
We can conclude very safely that
regional demands from different
parts of India exemplify the
principle of unity with diversity.
SADHNA SHARMA

PROBLEM OF GOA-
Goa was a colony of Portuguese and Portuguese
suppressed the people of Goa during their rule. The people
of Goa were denied Civil Rights. There was a strong popular
movement within Goa for freedom. In December, 1961 the
government of India sent the army which liberated Goa. Goa
became Union Territory.
WHAT WAS THE DESIRE OF ONE SECTION ABOUT GOA’S
MERGER WITH MAHARASHTRA?
Under the suppression of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak
party (MGP), one section demanded that Goa as Marathi
speaking area should merge with Maharashtra.
SADHNA SHARMA

OPINION POLL IN GOA 1967-
In January 1967 ‘Opinion Poll’ was held in Goa to decide
whether people of Goa wanted to be a part of Maharashtra
or remain separate. The majority of the people voted in
favor of remaining outside Maharashtra as a result of which
Goa continued as a Union Territory. In 1987, Goa was given
the status of full state within the Union of India.
SADHNA SHARMA

Regional Aspirations (Class XII)

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Regional Aspirations (Class XII)

Recently uploaded

In this document

Regional Aspirations (Class XII)