6.1. The Importance of Community Identity

Every human being needs a sense of stable identity to operate in this world. Questions like — Who am I? How am I different from others? How do others understand and comprehend me? What goals and aspirations should I have? – constantly crop up in our life right from childhood.

This chunk discusses the fundamental human need to establish a stable identity. From a young age, we start asking ourselves questions about our existence, our uniqueness, our perceptions by others, and our future aspirations. This quest for identity is crucial as it shapes our self-perception and interactions with the world around us.

Think of identity like a puzzle. Each piece represents different parts of our life experiences – family, friends, culture, and community. Just as a complete puzzle gives us a clear picture, a stable identity helps us understand ourselves better in the context of the world.

We are able to answer many of these questions because of the way in which we are socialised, or taught how to live in society by our immediate families and our community in various senses.

Socialization is the process through which we learn the norms, values, and behaviors appropriate in our society. Our families and communities play a major role in this process, influencing our beliefs and guiding our interactions. This shaping may start in childhood and continues throughout our lives, helping us navigate social dynamics.

Imagine learning to ride a bicycle. Your parents help you understand how to balance, move, and steer. Similarly, socialization trains us in navigating the social world, helping us 'balance' our identity among diverse influences from family and community.

The socialisation process involves a continuous dialogue, negotiation and even struggle against significant others (those directly involved in our lives) like our parents, family, kin group and our community.

Identity formation is not a passive process; it involves active dialogue with the influences around us. This dialogue may lead to negotiations where we balance our inherited values with our evolving beliefs. Sometimes, this can cause struggles, especially when there are differing expectations from family and community.

Consider a teenager who wants to adopt a new fashion style that their parents don’t approve of. This represents a struggle between the identity shaped by parental expectations and the individual’s personal choices. Such negotiations help define their unique identity.

Community identity is based on birth and ‘belonging’ rather than on some form of acquired qualifications or ‘accomplishment’. It is what we ‘are’ rather than what we have ‘become’.

Community identity relates to inherent attributes such as ethnicity, family ties, and cultural practices, which we acquire naturally at birth. Unlike professional identities, there’s no need to 'earn' this sense of belonging; it is indicative of deep-rooted connections to our culture and community.

Think about your last name. It carries a story of your ancestry and connects you to a wider family history, signifying who you inherently belong to, not just the achievements you have made as an individual.

These kinds of identities are called ‘ascriptive’ – that is, they are determined by the birth and do not involve any choice on the part of the individuals concerned.

Ascriptive identities are those assigned to individuals at birth based on attributes like race, caste, or family. Individuals do not choose these identities, and they often carry significant social implications, including how one is perceived in society.

Imagine being part of a team based solely on where you were born rather than your skills—like being drafted into a sports team just because your parents played that game, not because you’ve trained for it. That’s similar to how ascriptive identities function.

It is an odd fact of social life that people feel a deep sense of security and satisfaction in belonging to communities in which their membership is entirely accidental.

Despite the arbitrary nature of ascriptive identities, individuals often develop strong emotional bonds to their communities, feeling secure in their identities. This attachment arises because such identities provide a sense of belonging and connection to larger narratives and histories.

Consider a sports fan who is devoted to their team despite never having played the game. Their loyalty is derived from a shared identity with the community of fans, highlighting how emotional ties can create a sense of security and pride.

A second feature of ascriptive identities and community feeling is that they are universal.

Ascriptive identities are a common experience shared by many people across the globe. Almost everyone can identify with some ascriptive element, be it a language, faith, ethnicity, or place of birth, which creates a universal connection through our community ties.

Think of how diverse people might all rally around a particular national event, like the Olympics. Regardless of their differences, they share a collective identity as citizens or fans during that event, showcasing the universal nature of community identities.

Because of this, conflicts that involve our communities (whether of nation, language, religion, caste or region) are very hard to deal with.

Conflicts rooted in community identity can be particularly challenging because individuals may perceive any threat to their identity as a personal attack. This often leads to entrenched viewpoints and can escalate into broader societal conflict.

Imagine a neighborhood where long-time residents feel their way of life is threatened by new arrivals. Tensions will often escalate, as each group perceives the other as a threat to their unique community identity.

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