The State, Minorities and the Dynamics of Multiculturalism in the Developing World

Abstract

The idea of multiculturalism emerged in the wake of the 1970s, in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The circumstance was the incorporation and harmonious co-habitation of multiple cultural groups within these states. By and large, the groups with diverse cultural origins owed their presence to transmigration undertaken during the colonial as also the post-colonial times, in those countries where the movements began. To state precisely, multiculturalism as an approach, was advanced in particular, to deal with the problems of marginalization of a certain group or groups, for that matter, by recognizing that every culture, in actuality was inherently plural in nature. This implied that cultures never grew in isolation but in conjunction with the other cultures, with absolutely different traditions and customs, which meant that, the identity of one culture got defined in contrast to the ‘significant other'.  This in turn, sought to inculcate a sense of belonging among the divergent identity-groups with the recognition of ‘group-differentiated' rights that would confer equal status to one and all. However, given that each state has its own history and dynamics of growth and development and this got reflected respectively on the policies and their implementation as well as the outcomes. The success or the failure of the very concept itself was hinged on the nature of the state machinery and hence, the relevance of the idea itself lends itself to the nature of the state.