Community identities are described in the book as "ascriptive" because they:

Rest on birth and belonging, not on achievement

Are chosen freely by each adult

Are created by the state through law

Rest on birth and belonging, not on achievement

Depend on educational qualifications and income

In the sense used in the NCERT book, communalism refers to:

Strong personal devotion to one's own religion

The practice of living in communes

Support for greater regional autonomy

Which of the following best describes secularism in the Indian sense, as distinct from the Western sense, as discussed in the book?

The state shows equal respect for all religions and favours none

The state promotes the majority religion

Religion is banned from public life

Each religion governs its own territory

The Challenges of Cultural Diversity — Community, Nation, Region, Religion and the State

India is one of the most culturally diverse societies in the world, with many languages, religions, sects, regions, castes and tribes. Diversity in this sense means difference, not inequality — but differences can become the basis of conflict when they are tied to unequal access to power and resources. This chapter asks why community identities are so powerful, how nation-states respond to diversity, and how India has handled three of its sharpest expressions: regional and linguistic identity, religious minorities and communalism, and the meaning of secularism. It ends with civil society, the space between family, market and state in which citizens organise.

Community Identity, the Nation and the State

Community identities — of language, religion, caste, region or tribe — are ascriptive: they are based on birth and "belonging" rather than on any qualification or achievement. We do not choose our mother tongue or the community we are born into, and the book notes that this is why such identities feel natural and command strong emotional loyalty. Because they give people a sense of who they are and a set of others who share it, they can be mobilised powerfully, for good or ill, especially when a community feels threatened or disadvantaged.

A nation is described in the book as a peculiar sort of community — easy to describe but hard to define. Nations have been built on shared language, religion, ethnicity, history or political ideals, yet none of these is necessary or sufficient. A state is an abstract entity consisting of a set of political-legal institutions claiming control over a particular geographical territory and the people living in it; drawing on Max Weber, it is often defined by its claim to the monopoly of the legitimate use of force within that territory. A nation-state is a state that claims to represent a nation. Faced with diversity, nation-states have followed broadly two kinds of policy:

Two state responses to cultural diversity
Policy	What it does
Assimilationist	Seeks to persuade, encourage or force all citizens to adopt a uniform set of cultural values and norms — usually those of the dominant social group
Integrationist	Insists that public culture be restricted to a common national pattern, while non-national cultures are relegated to the private sphere

The book argues that such policies, by suppressing difference, often provoke the very resistance they fear. India, by contrast, chose largely to accommodate diversity — recognising many languages, protecting minorities, and reorganising states — on the view that a nation can be strong precisely because it allows its many communities to flourish within it.

Regionalism and the Linguistic Reorganisation of States

Regionalism in India is rooted in the diversity of languages, cultures, tribes and religions, and is encouraged by the geographical concentration of these identities and by a sense of regional deprivation. After independence, the demand to reorganise the provinces on the basis of language grew strong. The fast unto death of Potti Sriramulu in 1952 for a separate Telugu-speaking state led to the creation of Andhra state, and the States Reorganisation Commission reported in 1955; the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 redrew the map largely along linguistic lines. Many feared that linguistic states would weaken national unity. The book notes that the opposite happened: by giving linguistic communities a recognised place, reorganisation strengthened the federation.

Language was not the only basis. In 2000, three new states were created in response to long movements based on tribal identity, regional deprivation and ecological concerns: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand (then named Uttaranchal) and Jharkhand; Telangana was later carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Federalism — the division of powers between the Union and the states — has been the main institutional means of accommodating regional aspirations, though disputes over resources, river waters and the balance of power between the Centre and the states continue.

Minorities, Communalism, Secularism and Civil Society

In sociology a minority is not simply a smaller number: the term usually implies a group with a sense of collective belonging that is also in some way disadvantaged relative to the majority. A religious minority may be economically well off and still be vulnerable as a small cultural group. The Constitution protects minorities: Article 29 protects the right of any section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture to conserve it, and Article 30 gives religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Communalism, in the sense used in India, is an aggressive political ideology linked to religious identity — a chauvinism that treats one religious community as the only legitimate one, holds that people of other religions are inferior or enemies, and seeks political dominance on that basis. The book stresses that communalism is about politics, not about religion: a communalist need not be devout, and a deeply religious person need not be communal. Secularism has two senses. In the Western sense it means the mutual separation of church and state — neither interferes in the other's affairs. In the Indian sense it has come to mean the state's equal respect for all religions — the state does not favour any religion — while also allowing the state to intervene in religious practices for social reform. The book notes the tension this creates and the continuing debate over it.

Civil society is the broad arena that lies beyond the private domain of the family but outside the domain of both the state and the market — the non-state and non-market part of the public domain, in which individuals come together voluntarily to create institutions and organisations: voluntary associations, citizens' groups, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and the media. A vigorous civil society allows citizens to hold the state accountable and to take up causes that neither the state nor the market will.

⚠️ Communal is not the same as religious

A distractor will define communalism as "strong devotion to one's own religion". The book separates the two: communalism is a political ideology that seeks dominance through religious identity; devotion is a personal faith. Likewise "secular" in Indian usage is the opposite of "communal", not of "religious".

Key takeaways

Community identities are ascriptive — based on birth and belonging — which is why they command strong loyalty.
Assimilationist policies impose the dominant group's culture; integrationist policies confine non-national cultures to the private sphere.
Potti Sriramulu's fast (1952) led to Andhra state; the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 redrew states largely on linguistic lines, strengthening the federation.
Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created in 2000 on grounds other than language.
Article 29 protects distinct languages, scripts and cultures; Article 30 lets minorities establish and administer educational institutions.
Communalism is an aggressive political ideology linked to religious identity; Western secularism separates church and state, Indian secularism means equal respect for all religions.
Civil society is the non-state, non-market part of the public domain.

Practice questions (8)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

Community identities are described in the book as "ascriptive" because they:
1. Are chosen freely by each adult
2. Are created by the state through law
3. Rest on birth and belonging, not on achievement
4. Depend on educational qualifications and income
Show answer
Answer: C — Rest on birth and belonging, not on achievement
An ascribed identity is one given by birth — we do not choose our mother tongue or the community we are born into — and this is why such identities feel natural and attract strong loyalty. Identities based on educational qualifications and income would be achieved, the opposite of ascribed, and the idea that adults choose them freely contradicts the very meaning of the term.
A state policy that seeks to persuade or force all citizens to adopt a uniform set of cultural values, usually those of the dominant group, is called:
1. Assimilationist
2. Integrationist
3. Federal
4. Secular
Show answer
Answer: A — Assimilationist
An assimilationist policy aims at cultural uniformity, usually on the dominant group's terms. An integrationist policy is the close distractor: it does not demand that people give up their cultures, but insists that public culture follow a common national pattern while other cultures are confined to private life. Federalism and secularism concern the division of powers and the state's relation to religion.
Whose fast unto death in 1952, for a separate Telugu-speaking state, led to the creation of Andhra state and gave momentum to linguistic reorganisation?
1. Vinoba Bhave
2. Potti Sriramulu
3. C. Rajagopalachari
4. E. V. Ramasamy "Periyar"
Show answer
Answer: B — Potti Sriramulu
Potti Sriramulu died after a long fast in 1952 demanding a Telugu-speaking state; Andhra was created soon after, and the States Reorganisation Commission followed. Periyar is a plausible trap because he led a major regional movement in the South, but his was the non-Brahmin Self-Respect Movement in the Tamil region, not the demand for Andhra.
Following the report of the States Reorganisation Commission, Indian states were redrawn largely on linguistic lines by the States Reorganisation Act of:
1. 1950
2. 1953
3. 1960
4. 1956
Show answer
Answer: D — 1956
The Commission reported in 1955 and the States Reorganisation Act was passed in 1956. The year 1953 is the trap: it is when Andhra state was formed after Potti Sriramulu's death, which preceded and prompted the general reorganisation. The year 1960 saw the division of Bombay into Maharashtra and Gujarat, a later step.
Which Article of the Constitution gives religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice?
1. Article 25
2. Article 30
3. Article 17
4. Article 19
Show answer
Answer: B — Article 30
Article 30 gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions, while Article 29 protects the right to conserve a distinct language, script or culture — the two together are the core of minority rights. Article 25 is the tempting confusion because it concerns freedom of religion for everyone, not educational institutions for minorities.
In the sense used in the NCERT book, communalism refers to:
1. Strong personal devotion to one's own religion
2. The practice of living in communes
3. Support for greater regional autonomy
4. An aggressive political ideology linked to religious identity
Show answer
Answer: D — An aggressive political ideology linked to religious identity
The book defines communalism as an aggressive, chauvinist political ideology based on religious identity, seeking dominance for one community. Personal devotion is the trap the book itself warns about: communalism is about politics, not religion, and a devout person need not be communal while a communalist need not be devout.
Which of the following best describes secularism in the Indian sense, as distinct from the Western sense, as discussed in the book?
1. The state shows equal respect for all religions and favours none
2. The state promotes the majority religion
3. Religion is banned from public life
4. Each religion governs its own territory
Show answer
Answer: A — The state shows equal respect for all religions and favours none
In the Western sense secularism means the mutual separation of church and state; in the Indian sense it has come to mean the state's equal respect for all religions, without favouring any, while still permitting intervention for social reform. Banning religion from public life goes far beyond either sense, and promoting the majority religion contradicts both.
Consider the following statements:
1. Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created as states in 2000.
2. According to the book, the linguistic reorganisation of states weakened national unity, as many had feared.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1. Both 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 1 only
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: C — 1 only
The three states were created in 2000 on the basis of tribal identity, regional deprivation and ecological concerns, so statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is the trap: many did fear that linguistic states would weaken unity, but the book notes that the reorganisation, by recognising linguistic communities, actually strengthened the federation.