The inculcation of national consciousness in every citizen has become an urgent task, and it should supersede any other interest in building a great nation. So, in this article, I will discuss the meaning of national consciousness and ways of promoting it among the citizens.
National consciousness plays a crucial role in political and socio-economic developments in many nations. Some of the importance of national consciousness is that it promotes national unity, sustainable development, peace, respect for diversity, patriotism, etc. Creating a national consciousness helps to decimate politics of ethnic division by persuading the youth not to vote for their ethnic group but for a political party whose political platform promotes national development.
National interest reduced the rate of rivalries among the citizens in their efforts to build their societies, i.e., maintaining consciousness of common identity, which helps to remove some of the causes of strife because the people who share these common features have less to quarrel about and may develop a habit of tolerance. So, there is the need to imbibe in citizens values that enable them to prioritize national interests before those of their ethnic groups.
National consciousness is a strong sense or feeling of attachment to one’s country over and above every other consideration, interest, or peculiarity that promotes her common welfare or development.
Read: Meaning and importance of citizenship education
Ways of Promoting National Consciousness
- Inculcating the right values, morals, and discipline in the citizens.
- Inculcating sound moral and religious beliefs.
- Encouraging justice and fairness among citizens.
- Public enlightenment and sensitization on the importance of civic/societal values/use of mass media
- Encouraging national unity and understanding through healthy competitions, politics, sports, festivals, etc.
- Placing national interest above personal interest/patriotism.
- Participating in community development.
- Emulating exemplary leadership qualities.
- Respecting national symbols, e.g, National Flag
- Singing National Anthem/reciting National Pledge.
- Recognizing and rewarding excellent performance/services of the citizens to the nation/country through National awards and other regional honours.
- Teamwork/cooperation on societal/national issues.
- Demonstrating tolerance of opposition/conflicting views.
- Celebrating past heroes and heroines.
