Importance of National Integration Essay: Building Unity in Diversity

A bond of togetherness between people irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and gender is national integrity. This is a feeling of oneness and brotherhood in a country where diversity is the main ethos. National Integration keeps the entire country tote and strong, despite the differences in culture, language, and main livelihood. An integrated nation will always progress towards development and prosperity.

Aims of National Integration

A country like India has people from different cultures, languages and races and national integration not just aims to bind them together but also aims at giving them a better environment to live and prosper. 

• National Integration helps in keeping the stability of the country and helps in its development. 

• It nurtures communal harmony and fights casteism, regionalism and linguistic differences. 

• It improves the feeling of loyalty towards the nation and aims at uniting people in case of emergency.  

National integrity focuses on all the sections of the society, thereby making them financially independent. 

Through it, the State aims to promote economic integration too. 

No foreign assault can ever break the back of a nation that is united in a true sense. 

Education, social and cultural unity, and equal access to all basic rights and amenities foster a sense of integrity in the citizens of a country.

Importance of National Integration

National integration plays a crucial role in the political, economic, cultural and social dimensions of a country. It helps the country in the following ways:

Promotes Social Harmony 

Due to national integration, the social bond between people strengthens in the country, thereby endorsing brotherhood, peace and tolerance among them.

Unites the Nation 

This unites people from a different race, caste, creed or thoughts, and makes the country a single entity, thereby strengthening the country and making it internationally powerful.

Increases Economic Growth

Since this country has the least internal matters and problems, the economic growth will prosper and develop.

Promotes Loyalty for the Nation

National Integration endorses the loyalty of the citizen to the country. It aids to make people join hands and stand for the advancement of the country forgetting their petty issues.

Significance of National Integration in Modern Era

National Integration plays a crucial role during modern times and challenges communalism, regionalism, linguism, etc. However, global terrorism is a major threat to national integration. Only a few people with radical thoughts convince the population and brainwash them. They provoke them against their motherland.

In the era of technological advancements and the accessibility of social media, it is very easy to get deceived. National integration helps to ignore these situations. It makes people intellectually mature and tolerant.

National integration is very significant for a country because it is seen many times in the history of mankind that the integrity of a nation fell in danger. It had confronted major challenges from within and also became a victim of foreign assaults. Hence, national integration plays a significant role in the making of a nation. It keeps the history of the country sustained with development.

National Integration in India is critical for increasing unity among all segments of society in a country like India, which is rich in diversity in many aspects of life. This article explains the role of the school system, film, individuals from the middle class, people from the working class, intellectuals, various multinational corporations, and the media in fostering national integration.

What is the role of education in national integration?

Education is important because it alters our views and ideas. Fortunately, India has had excellent educators both before and after independence. School instructors have an important role in developing the brains of the country's young children. Throughout history, several historical figures like Rani Laxmi Bai and Lal Bahadur Shastri, as well as iconic phrases such as 'Inquilab Zindabad,' have infiltrated our collective psyche.

 The syllabus developed by NCERT with the assistance of famous academics has also played an important role in developing the concept of India. Furthermore, students frequently relocate to other areas of the country to pursue further education at various colleges.

This has enabled young minds to think beyond their areas, castes, and religions. Universities around the nation, such as Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Osmania University, to mention a few, have students from all over the country who, in a short period, acquire a pan-Indian mindset that transcends any cultural or ethnic boundaries. Unfortunately, our student enrollments in higher education institutions remain very low, with only about 12-13 percent of our population having access to higher education, whereas, in the United States, it is about 87 per cent, in Europe, it is more than 50 per cent, and in China, it is about 25 per cent.

 Thus, one may anticipate that shortly, with the establishment of private universities and government initiatives, higher education will not only become more accessible, but student enrollments in these institutions will also increase.

People from various cultural groups, as well as marginalized groups such as minorities, women, tribal groups, and so on, who had previously been alienated from the national mainstream, have gradually aligned themselves with the mainstream, owing largely to the efforts of an inclusive education system. "Right education available to everybody is arguably the primary solution for most of our maladies," said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

What is the purpose of national integration?

The goals of national integration are as follows:

• Boost the sense of camaraderie.

• Reduce religious, regional, racial, and cultural disparities.

• Active and energetic dissemination of the ideals for which our country stands, particularly tolerance and peace.

• Mobilize constructive societal forces in the interest of national unity and solidarity, and provide them with leadership, encouragement, and articulation.

• Reduce homicides, massacres, and riots, among other things.

• Contribute to the nation's development. Increase people's togetherness.

Middle-class, intellectual, and working-class contributions

It is vital to highlight that none of these classes can afford to be confined to a certain place. The middle class, for example, is a highly mobile society that regularly moves across states for business, school, or job opportunities. People from many cultural and regional origins have settled in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Calcutta, among others, and made these cities their homes. 

This segment of the middle class may readily relate to the concept of India. In Mumbai alone, one may see individuals from all across India, many of them have come there in pursuit of better possibilities. Although individuals transferring from smaller cities to larger ones encounter a variety of challenges, one of which is being classified as "outsiders."

Their will to stay and overcome the obstacles, on the other hand, reflects their faith in the notion of India. The same may be said about the working class. Similarly, intellectuals, by their liberal character, do not confine themselves to caste, class, religion, or location. They oppose the concept of competing values and instead work for the collaborative upliftment of humans and humanity. 

Since the emergence of consciousness of rights and oneness, there have been several instances where the whole intellectual community has spoken out against the state's arbitrary acts against people' creative expression, regardless of caste, creed, religion, or location. This creates room for diverse expressions within a unified India.