How National Integration Enhances Conflict Prevention and Social Cohesion: A Comparative Analysis of Successful Cases

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National integration is the vivid consciousness of an identity that unifies the citizens of a country. In spite of belonging to different regions, religions, language groups, and ethnic identities, national integration makes people believe the idea that they belong to a single nationality.

It wouldn’t be wrong to assert that unity is the ultimate solution to all world problems. It resolves the irreconcilable, eradicates detestation and promotes love. Talking about national integration, let’s first break the term into the words ‘national’ and ‘integration’.

National is anything common to the entire population within a fixed territory. Integration means the unification of something. To put it together, national integration is the ideology which means the unification of the people of a nation.

The primary ingredients of national integration

First, there should be a nation. Nation means a population that’s amalgamated or unified by means of diverse history and culture but a common territory.
Then there should be a feeling of belonging to a single nation which can be expressed by cohesion and solidarity. For national integration, it is important for people to own each other.
There must be linguistic, social, economic and political acceptability and harmony.
There must be a shared code of conduct among the nationals.
People should be willing to subordinate their factional and parochial commitments to their national obligations which must stand superior to everything else.

Importance of National Integration

The world has seen a series of occurrences of foreigners intruding the territories of nations, dividing the people gradually along the communal and sectarian lines, taking over their countries and realizing the rule. How does it become so convenient for intruders to break into the consolidated nations in which the nationals have been living from their ancestral times?

It’s nothing else but the loss of unity and faith among the population. When in a nation, people begin to disown one another it marks the end of their freedoms and independence.

No nuclear power or financial resources can save them no matter how hard they try; once they’re defeated by the hands of hatred and separation. Therefore, national integration is the strongest weapon for a nation to be undefeatable.

Impediments to National Integration

The nations which let the following factors come in their way of solidarity lose national integration and invite the murkiest and the darkest clouds to caste over them.

Communalism- It means the communal division of the state.
Casteism- The caste differences among the masses of a nation.
Provincialism- The division of the state into provinces.
Political disintegration- When there are different political parties in a state, people divide along the political line.
Bad leadership- A bad leader can never bring the people together.
Unemployment- Unemployment infuses jealousy, frustration, evil and greed in people which is the biggest blow to the national integration edifice.
Lack of education- Uneducated masses can never realize the meaning of national integration because they never get to study the pains and troubles it took their leaders to build their nation. Plus, they’re deprived of the basic lessons of sharing, ethics and morality that are taught in schools.

It’s evident from the above that if the adverse impact of the aforementioned factors is not rooted out from a nation it tends to thrash the unity existing from generations of nationhood.

For a sound environment in any community, it is important for the leaders to be neutral and rational. If the leader is greedy for power and money, causing corruption without working on any initiatives to promote the welfare of the people and enhancing the social system then it means that the nation is at stake.

Facts about Nationa Integration

Communalism, religionism, casteism, and regionalism are the primary adversaries for national integration.
India is the first country to create a National Integration Council for fighting the adversaries of national integrity.
Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Liberia, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa are the most ethnically diverse countries in the world.
India is 9th among the most linguistically diverse countries, yet, its national integration is quite strong.
Propaganda is also a useful device to propel the national integration of a country.