• States try to establish their political legitimacy through nation-building strategies.
• They sought to secure the loyalty and obedience of their citizens through policies of assimilation or integration.
• This is because most states have generally been suspicious of cultural diversity and have tried to reduce or eliminate it. The states fear that the recognition of varied culturally diverse identities such as language, ethnicity, religion will lead to social fragmentation and prevent the creation of a harmonious society.
• Also, apart from the fear of fragmentation, accommodating these differences is politically challenging.
• Thus so many states have resorted to either suppressing these identities or ignoring them in the political domain.
