Politics of Identity and Fragmentation of National Character: A Study of Three Regional Movements in West Bengal

Abstract

 Identity politics in a globalised world is a misnomer .Identity is a concept that means belongingness. This concept of belongingness is the root cause of all conflicts and uncertainties in the contemporary world.  This paper attempts to negotiate identity politics in terms of nation's fragmentations with reference to the Indian context. The strong national identity that was crafted during the period of struggle for freedom in India disappeared immediately after the attainment of independence. The process of nation building was met with serious contestation. People began to think in terms of fragmentation, exclusion, separation rather than integration. Peoples are being divided in the lines of majority-minority, local-outsider, son of the soil-immigrants, hills- plains, tribals and non tribals and so on. To reconcile one's self with nation's self political structure of each just society should reflect a dialogical paradigm among the diverse cultural communities within that society. Preconditions like freedom of expression, agreed procedures, and basic ethical norms, participatory public spaces, equal rights, a responsive and popularly accountable structure of authority and empowerment of all citizens are to be maintained. Public policy should be framed in such a way that can preserve minority cultures, resist pressure of assimilation, and enjoy equal cultural citizenship and interaction with dominant culture.