1995-10-01a- CIA Conference Report: THE CHALLENGE OF ETHNIC CONFLICT TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORDER IN THE 1990S GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES 01-Oct-95

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Evolving Ethnicity in South Asia ethnic agendas accordingly. They base them not only
With Particular Reference to India on their own social and economic interests seen in iso-
lation but also on their perceptions of the interests of
others in the same arena with whom they must com-
Joseph E. Schwartzberg pete for limited political assets. Ethnic groups have
Professor of Geography sought to advance their interests by a wide variety of
University of Minnesota means. These include the formation and support of
political parties and other organizations; selective sup-
port for nonethnic political parties and sympathetic
Introduction candidates; discriminatory legislation when an ethnic
group controls the government at a particular level;
The following survey of evolving South Asian ethnic- and, when the group is out of power, propaganda,
ity generally supports the position of Paul Brass strikes, demonstrations, economic boycotts, and so
(1991, p. 8), who asserts that: forth. Groups may also deliberately resort to the use of
force, even to the point of large-scale insurrection.
ethnicity and nationalism are not 'givens' but are More often, however, violence occurs when confron-
social and political constructions. They are creations tations with other groups or with the government get
of elites, who draw upon, distort, and sometimes fab- out of control. Violence has, in fact, at times marked
ricate materials from the cultures of the groups they virtually every type of ethnic movement discussed in
wish to represent in order to protect their well-being this paper and has repeatedly affected every major
or existence or to gain political and economic advan- region and virtually every state of India, as well as the
tage for their groups, as well as for themselves.
[Further] ethnicity and nationalism are modern phe-
nomena inseparably connected with the modern cen- The Government of India has responded to the politi-
tralizing state. cal demands of ethnic groups in ways no less varied
I would attach more importance than Bhow- than those used by the groups themselves. On numer-
Brassous occasions, as in regard to state reorganization and
ever, to the so-called primordial loyalties that inhere the deman s, it asd to organized ubthe demand for quotas, it has bowed to organizedion'brh.Wletsemyotbimuae -pub-
in one's birth. While these may not be immutable giv-often
ens, they do represent a reservoir of cultural identifiers resorted to the use of substantial force, especially in
from which elites can draw as they assess specific dealing with secessionist movements in its border
political situations and make a calculus of the costs regions, whether they be of tribals in the northeast or
and benefits of seeking to elicit particular types of Sikhs or Kashmiris in the northwest. Between these
support. Among these identifiers are caste, religion, extremes, numerous options existed. At times the gov-
sect (which may be locally important, but which I can- ernment successfully co-opted the leadership of spe-
not explore in this brief paper), language, dialect (also cific groups, made expedient compromises with them,
not discussed), and regional loyalty. Birth within a
particular ad r e r. ly al nr mswi yin ea or acquiesced in their control over local polities, pro-
platicular gohey are matty, t be m a w e vided they did not transcend certain limits. Alterna-
They are potent and they tend to endure. Hence, politi. tively, the central government has used its substantial
Sonty sfandt nd eshapindue.hcHidentities. control over fiscal resources and other economic
cians can go only so far in reshaping ethmc levers to gain favor or punish dissent; it has also inter-
fered in numerous ways in local politics-a cause of
I would also stress more than Brass and other political particular alienation in the case of Kashmir-declar-
commentators do the importance of geographic are- ing certain groups and activities illegal, jailing dissi-
nas. I repeatedly refer in this paper to changes in polit- dents, and frequently suspending the elected
ical boundaries and show that the political actors
thrown together within the administrative limits of
any newly reconfigured country or state adjust their
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