India is currently grappling with an uncomfortable paradox: despite presenting itself as a rising global power, it faces pressure from at least twenty active separatist movements. The idea of a united India may splinter into a patchwork of independent entities if even a few of these movements succeed. In light of this, the call for an undivided and perpetual India—known as Akhand Bharat—gains urgency, yet also grows more fragile.

Jammu and Kashmir remains the most tense and entrenched conflict zone. Decades of military rule, compounded by the 2019 repeal of Article 370, have transformed dormant dissent into open rebellion. Stripping the region of its special status only deepened local marginalization. Meanwhile, the Khalistan movement—a Sikh separatist demand that culminated in tragic violence during the 1980s—has reemerged in Punjab, fueled by mobilization of the global Sikh diaspora and momentum from recent farmer protests. Even relatively peaceful states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh now host growing calls for greater regional autonomy, reflecting broader dissatisfaction with India’s federal structure.

In the mineral-rich “Red Corridor” (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh), promises of industrial development have largely bypassed indigenous tribal populations. Displaced by........

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