Introduction:

Regionalism is a feeling or an ideology among a section of people residing in a particular geographical space characterized by unique language, culture etc., that they are the sons of the soil and every opportunity  in their land must be given to them first but not to the outsiders. It is a sort of Parochialism. In most of the cases it is raised for expedient political gains but not necessarily.

Body:

Regionalism in India:

• Roots of regionalism is in India’s manifold diversity of languages, cultures, ethnic groups, communities, religions and so on, and encouraged by the regional concentration of those identity markers, and fuelled by a sense of regional deprivation.
• For many centuries, India remained the land of many lands, regions, cultures and traditions.
• For instance, southern India (the home of Dravidian cultures), which is itself a region of many regions, is evidently different from the north, the west, the central and the north-east.
• Even the east of India is different from the North-East of India comprising today seven constituent units of Indian federation with the largest concentration of tribal people.

Factors responsible for Regionalism: A host of factors ranging from Geographical, Historical, Linguistic, Religious, political, Economic and Ethnic factors influence the Regionalism in India.

Regionalism and Federalism:

• The role played by Indian federalism in ensuring India’s unity, stability and survival as a polity in the face of persistent regionalism, often verging on separation, rooted in manifold and complex social and cultural diversity, and mass poverty, illiteracy, extreme regional unevenness in development, and widespread inequality.
• The question has assumed special significance in the aftermath of the disintegration of the multi-ethnic and multinational Soviet Union, and the split up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• The need for federalism is enhanced in countries with ethnically distinct regions where the territorial accommodation of distinct groups of people is of paramount importance.
• For those countries, a combination of shared rule (for general purposes of unity) and some kind of self-rule (for regional/local purposes of diversity) is a must if unity and integrity are to be maintained.
• Indian federalism is seen as a method of accommodation of regionalism in India.
• Federalism is seen here as a political equilibrium, which results from the appropriate balance between shared rule and self-rule.
• In the post Second World War period, many post-colonial countries adopted federalism as a method of governance in multi-ethnic contexts.
• India’s rich diversity sometimes looks like an obstacle to unity. But the latest election has proved that a commitment to resolving differences peacefully and democratically can transform diversity into a source of strength.
• India’s federal reconciliation of regional identity with autonomy has a democratic aspect.
• Democracy rather than ethnicity is thus the legitimacy basis of such political institutions.
• The federalism has been given strong push by devolving powers at local level to states and their local bodies through 73rd and 74th Amendment act. And according to Indian judiciary, federalism is basic structure of Indian constitution.
• The regions declared under fifth and sixth schedule enjoy certain autonomy which gives them scope to maintain their own culture and develop according to their own need. This makes federal structure stronger.
• Other than this any policy for such area is different than the mainland policy as in case of the provisions of the panchayats (extension to the scheduled areas) act, 1996, popularly known as PESA

Conclusion:

The need of the hour is to develop each region of India, through devolution of power to local governments and empowering people for their participation in decision-making. The governments at State level need to find out the alternative resources of energy, source of employment for local people, use of technology in governance, planning and for agriculture development.