India is a country of multi-ethnic culture where people belonging to different religious, racial, cultural and lingual identities live together harmoniously. The country is known for communal harmony - the hallmark of democracy in a country governed by the rule of law. It is an eternal value of constitutionalism and inherent attribute of democracy and good governance has to be maintained.

Since antiquity, all religions, cultures and societies have provided for living in harmony. It is actually the fundamental law of creation and continues to govern our life. Etymologically, harmony means ‘joint’. It is understood as ‘binding together and being in concord with one another and the cosmos and in the context of communities of different thoughts and belief – be it social, economic, political and ecological’. It simply means living with unity and mutual reciprocity, beyond class, caste, creed, religion and gender barriers.
Communal harmony is the fundamental need of every country’s fabric. It strives to create goodwill and harmony among various communities. The aim is to foster an ethic of coexistence rooted in or inspired by religious and cultural values.
As Gandhi ji rightly said, ‘The whole geographical India is one country. The whole people make one nation. Let us unite all races and religious communities together. We believe in one world family, spiritual unity, and unitism. Our history is history of experiments with truth, through love and service of man. Start from the small scale and move over to the bigger one.’
Democracy would indeed be hollow if it fails to generate this spirit of brotherhood amongst all sections of the people. A feeling that all fellow citizens are children of the same soil, same motherland - This spirit of brotherhood becomes all the more essential in a country like India, composed of so many races, religions, languages and cultures. The ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity in the preamble are relevant and meaningful because these ideals promote a common feeling of brotherhood.
Urdu poet Allama Iqbal aptly said "Sare Jahanse Achha Ea Hindustan Hamara, Hum Bulbul hain iski ye gulsitaan Hamara." There is no better land than Hindustan. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Let us forget all thoughts of, I am a Hindu, you a Muslim or I am a Gujurati, you a Madrasi, let us think, I and mine in a common Indian nationality, we shall be free only when a large number of our people are determined to swim or sink together."
As India celebrates Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary, it is no easy task to speak in memory of the man who literally created the Indian Union. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked towards re-united India when that task seemed almost impossible to his contemporaries and worked tirelessly and successfully for communal harmony in the midst of the horrors of Partition. The phenomenal contributions of the Iron Man of India laid the foundation of a sovereign Independent India. He was against the discriminating factors of communal difference coming in the way of building a nation state. Civil liberties, to him, were the bedrock of a democratic polity. Respect for individual rights and liberty was considered indispensible in the development of a nation.
National integration is the togetherness and oneness felt by the citizens. Sardar Patel’s effort for the national integration is completely uncompromising in order to make a one nation that is India. Why Communal harmony is always preferred over other threats is British used this as a tool to enslave India in 19th century. Our Independence is achieved after achieving communal harmony.
The need of the hour is harmony and peace through which we can attain socioeconomic development. Cultural harmony and linguistic harmony also has to be maintained for peaceful and prosperous country. Secular character of all the institutions, Judiciary, Executive and Legislature, is a pre-requisite for peace and harmony. The constitution of the country has enforced laws to ensure communal harmony in the country and the government taking all the necessary measures to ensure the same. The people participation especially the youth is essential to achieve this goal.
We as the citizen of this country have a very proud legacy of tolerance and respect for other’s views and thoughts. So, we the people have to take responsibility of imparting brotherhood and togetherness in society and try to make our country peaceful. Eventually it is the responsibility of the political and religious leadership, civil society, intelligentsia and the media to uphold the Constitution and the integrity of institutions.
Communal harmony is paramount in any country that has multiple religions and communities. We must strive hard to train and educate people in harmonious cohabitation.