Thevalue of the spirit of cooperation and the strength that comes out of group activity has also been realised for long at the international level. For instance, the United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. There are also many associations of countries, known as international or intergovernmental organizations, which help nations cooperate on global peace, trade, security, and development. Those include NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, ASEAN, BRICS the intergovernmental organization of 11 major emerging economies and developing countries, BRICS, the organization comprising Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, the Group of Twenty, EU, the European Union, and SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

An interesting type of groups comprises what are known as cine star fan clubs. Around the middle of the 20th century, when the ambience of the film world centred round matinee idols such as M.G. Ramachandran and N.T. Rama Rao, that the culture of such clubs began. The fans treated the actors like minor deities and even engaged in rituals like bathing giant cut outs in milk. Importantly, they also undertook welfare measures such as organising blood donation camps, in addition to undertaking other works of a charitable and community service nature such as providing educational aid for poor students and distributing free food for those in need. Over time, they also became powerful political vote banks and springboards for regional political power.

On the flipside, however, rivalries between such associations often escalated into physical violence some of which resulted in severe injuries and even tragic deaths. Large-scale street brawls, vandalism of theatres, and reckless celebrations endangering public safety, disrupting local communities became common, apart from toxic digital harassment, and deeper social polarisation.

As a result, the activities of the clubs have amplified social divides instead of fostering pure entertainment and abandoning a healthy and artistic discourse in the film industry informed by professional camaraderie. Many of them openly profess continued loyalty to political parties through organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS), the All India Trade Union Congress.

Certain attributes of educational institutions help build unified community, identity, provide equality, reduce social pressure and improve campus safety. For instance, having a school uniform, an anthem, a motto that captures the core values of the institution and inspires students. They also serve to create a bond of commonality and a feeling of awareness. Schools, in particular, are known to use names and colours for different houses to build a sense of community, encourage teamwork and spark, friendly competition. The arrangement also teaches the pupils the value of leadership and sportsmanship.

Associations of people belonging to professions, such as medicine, the law, accountancy, and the like, also exist at the national and provincial levels There is for example, the Indian Medical Association, the largest represented organisation of doctors of modern system of medicine in India which looks after the interests of doctors as well as the wellbeing of the community at large. It offers its members various services such as networking, and continuous legal education.

Employees of the governments at the national and state levels also, on similar lines, have formed into associations. As anexample, associations of members of the All India Services and the central and state government service, which further the common interests of their members in cultural and literary activities. They also organize exposure activities, such as lectures by experts, in emerging phenomena such as climate change in artificial intelligence. On occasion, they have also been known to take upmatters relating to their service conditions with the governments concerned. Their activities, however, stop short of those of similar groups in other areas such as the central and state government employees, the railways, the banking services, insurance, generally known as trade unions, in addition to similar groups of teachers and students.

Likewise, the Bar Association of India, alongside organizations like the Indian National Bar Association and the Indian Lawyers Association, at the national level, and Advocates Associations at the state level represent the interests of lawyers. Unlike statutory bodies such as the Bar Councils, which handle licensing and professional discipline, such associations function as voluntary membership societies. Similarly, the Institution of Engineers is a national organization for engineers in India and is the world's largest multi-disciplinary engineering professional society. Chartered Accountants' Societies belong to the same genre and are voluntary or statutory professional organizations that support tax, accounting, and audit professionals.

There are also associations with a somewhat more serious and purposeful set of objectives, such as, for instance, the RSS, a right wing, Hindu nationalist volunteer organization and the core ideological leader of the family of affiliated groups of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is known for its focus on character, building, individual, discipline, physical fitness, ideological commitment, and societal cohesion. The organisation has produced eminent and successful leaders such as M. Venkaiah Naidu, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Narendra Modi.

The Akhil Bharathi Vidyarthi Parishad, India’s largest student organisation and an affiliate of RSS focuses on student activism, education, educational reforms, leadership development, and fostering patriotism. The Students’ Federation of India, likewise, is a major Left-wing student organization affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), focusing on student rights, education access, and social justice. The All India Students’ Federation is a similar students’ wing of the Communist Party of India. It actively supports LGBT rights.

Trade unions and associations of teachers and students, among others, have also often been known to go on strikes to press for the demands of their members. One such strike, the All India Railway Employees’ strike called by George Fernandes, then a union leader and subsequently a Union Minister, is remembered for the dynamic leadership provided and the results achieved. One cannot, however, forget the amount of hardship and inconvenience caused to the general public on account of that event

The spirit of team work is not confined to human beings alone. In fact, several animals show teamwork. Ants and bees, for example, are known to be the ultimate symbols of collective cooperation and division of labour. Notable examples of species of animals working together are wolves, orcas, and elephants. Several types of birds, such as woodpeckers and parrots, also demonstrate how amazing teamwork can help them survive, save energy, and raise their young. They work together in groups using smart habits like shared leadership, cooperative breeding, and synchronized movement.

What comes out from the discussion on this subject over two weeks, essentially, is that the message of that well-worn cliché is that the message of the adage that unity is strength, continues to hold good. Given mutual support and a spirit of cooperation, a team can overcome any problems no matter how challenging it may be in terms of dimension and complexity. And, to reinforce the strength of that statement with another cliché, the lesson for the members of any team, group or organisation is that united they stand, divided they fall. So appropriate, indeed, not only for the people belonging to different faiths, cultures,and regions of our country, but also its political parties!

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)