Read the passage given below and answer the following question.
Historically, states have tried to establish and enhance their political legitimacy through nation-building strategies. They sought to secure … the loyalty and obedience of their citizens through policies of assimilation or integration. Attaining these objectives was not easy, especially in a context of cultural diversity where citizens, in addition to their identifications with their country, might also feel a strong sense of identity with their community – ethnic, religious, linguistic and so on. Most states feared that the recognition of such difference would lead to social fragmentation and prevent the creation of a harmonious society. In short, such identity politics was considered a threat to state unity. In addition, accommodating these differences is politically challenging, so many states have resorted to either suppressing these diverse identities or ignoring them on the political domain. Policies of assimilation – often involving outright suppression of the identities of ethnic, religious or linguistic groups – try to erode the cultural differences between groups. Policies of integration seek to assert a single national identity by attempting to eliminate ethno-national and cultural differences from the public and political arena, while allowing them in the private domain. Both sets of policies assume a singular national identity.

Choose the correct option.
Assimilationist and integrationist strategies try to establish singular national identities through various interventions like:
1. Centralising all power to forums where the dominant group constitutes a majority, and eliminating the autonomy of local or minority groups.
2. Imposing a unified legal and judicial system based on the dominant group’s traditions and abolishing alternative systems used by other groups.

Both 1 and 2

The correct answer is Option 3: Both 1 and 2.

Statement 1: Centralising all power to forums where the dominant group constitutes a majority, and eliminating the autonomy of local or minority groups. This statement is correct. Assimilationist and integrationist strategies seek to strengthen a single national identity by concentrating decision-making power in institutions dominated by the majority. Reducing the autonomy of local or minority groups limits the public expression of distinct identities and promotes uniformity.

Statement 2: Imposing a unified legal and judicial system based on the dominant group’s traditions and abolishing alternative systems used by other groups. This statement is correct. These strategies promote a common legal framework based on the traditions of the dominant group while replacing separate legal systems followed by minority communities. This reflects the objective of creating a single national identity rather than recognising cultural diversity.