National Integration means cementing the people of this nation into a single identity. It is bond which is above all the caste, region, religion and language consideration. It is a feeling of love and harmony, co-operation and peace, unity and oneness. It means that all our interests are secondary to the nation and its interests.
Today many political parties and so-called secular leaders are advocating secession from India. They exploit the emotional, religious and regional sentiments of the people to divide them. Each one of them thinks himself to be first a Punjabi, or a Tamil or a Gujarati. None of us thinks himself to be an Indian first. In the process we forget that we have become slaves many times in our history to foreign powers. The reason being that we stood divided against their invasions.
We do not sit and think that National Integration is essential for the peace of the society. The safety and prosperity of a country depends upon our staying and working together. Each state is like a limb of the body call India. Any ailment in them brings the progress of a country to a grinding halt. It is only when we collectively fight the divisive forces then we can hope to win against any attack on our country.
Unfortunately there are no fullproof methods of binding the country together. The process of Integration has to be slow and steady. And it should begin with emotionally integrating the people who wish to divide us. Our educational system should do away with all the lessons which preach the greatness of one religion over the other. Lastly, all the forms of public media should make a conscious effort to avoid any inflammatory news, views and programmes.
Vocabulary
Ailment—disease
Unfortunately—unluckily
