Sociology

COMMUNALISM

Meaning of Communalism

India is a secular nation where several religious groups co-exist, and the Constitution of India seeks each citizen to be tolerant of other religions. However, despite the provisions of the Indian Constitution to protect the interests of people belonging to all religions, communalism has often endangered the peace and harmony of our country in several instances in the past.

The origin and growth of communalism have their own history in India. In fact, communalism was part and parcel of the British policy of “divide and rule,” The beginning of communalism can be traced to the pre-independence days. In the first war of independence (1857), the Hindus, as well as the Muslims, had united to throw British imperialism out of India. The British suppressed the movement and later on started making use of the policy of “divide and rule” to instigate the Muslims against the Hindus and vice versa.

Communalism stems from religious fundamentalism that makes one believe that one’s religion is the only true faith. Communalism itself is the ideology of a social, political, or religious group that their religion and practices are superior to that of other groups. Religion is a personal and sensitive issue for most people. Therefore any hint of antagonism or a sign of disrespect towards one’s religion immediately triggers hatred and violence. Communalism is divisive in that it stresses the significance of one religion over the others. While effectively, the preaching and values of all religions do not differ, it is the conflict of interests and desire for dominance that provokes hostility. It has also been observed on various occasions that religious leaders arouse fanatic behaviour among followers through fundamentalist speeches and political leaders do the same to ensure themselves a vote bank for attaining power. Historically communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims have occurred regularly. The seeds of this conflict lay in the Partition and formation of Pakistan. Religious fundamentalism and fanaticism have left such wounds on the psyche of the people that it has led to the building of stereotypes. Muslims are viewed suspiciously and often experience difficulties in assimilation. In recent times communal strife has also spread to rural areas of the country, implying prejudices can exist anywhere.

Definition of Communalism

1. Abdul Ahmed says, “Communalism is a social phenomenon characterized by the religion of two communities, often leading to acrimony, tension and even rioting between them.”

2. Prabha Dixit writes, “Communalism is a political doctrine which makes use of religious and cultural differences to achieve political ends.”

3. According to Asqhar Ali Engineer, Moin Shakir, and Abdul Ahmed, “it is an instrument in the hands of to upper Cass to concentrate power by dividing people.”

4. According to Bipan Chandra, communalism is “the belief that because a group of people following a particular religion, they have common social, political and economic interests.”

5. According to historian Harbans Mukhia, “communalism is the phenomenon of religious differences between groups, often leading to tension and even rioting between them.”

6. According to Gopal Krishnan, communalism is a destructive Indian expression of religion in politics, which emphasizes the religious identity of social groups and requires political society to be organized as a confederation of religious communities.

Types of Communalism

T. K. Oommen, a famous sociologist, has suggested that there are six dimensions of communalism. These are:

1. Assimilationist or Communist Communalism: 

Under this type of communalism, small religious groups are assimilated into big religious groups. For instance, scheduled tribes, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists are Hindus, and should cover them, should cover the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 should cover them. In addition, all of them should be covered with the same personal law. Hence, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jain do not identify themselves as too much different from Hindu and Hindu religious beliefs and sentiments.

2. Welfarist Communalism: 

In this type of communalism, emphasis is placed on the welfare of the particular community. Providing education, scholarship, financial assistance in higher studies, matrimonial assistance, skill development, and residential accommodation are examples of the services offered under this type of communalism. These welfarist organizations are involved in different kinds of charitable and other social upliftment activities related to their particular community alone.

3. Retreatist Communalism: 

In this type of communalism, a small religious community keeps itself aloof from politically related activities. They keep themselves away from politics. For example, people belonging to the Bahai religious community keep themselves away from any political activity.

4. Retaliatory Communalism: 

In this type of communalism, people belonging to one religious community attempt to harm, hurt and injure the members of other religious communities. In India, this type of communalism can be witnessed where the fight between different groups, either religious or caste, is omnipresent. A perfect example of this case is the Godhra Riots and their aftermath.

5. Separatist Communalism: 

In this type of communalism, one religious community decides to maintain its cultural specificity. It demands a separate territorial state within the country, for example, the demand for Gorkhaland by Gorkhas, Bodoland by Bodos, Vidharbha in Maharashtra, and separatist tendencies in Mizoram.

6. Secessionist Communalism: 

In this type of communalism, a religious community demands a separate political identity and insists on having a separate state.  For example, a very small militant section of the Sikh population demanding Khalistan or some Muslim militants demanding independent Kashmir were engaged in practicing this type of communalism. A very recent example is the demand for Nagalim (Greater Nagaland), consisting of all the Naga-inhabited areas of neighbouring Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and some portions of Myanmar, which it considers to be the rightful homeland of the Nagas.

Of all the above types of communalism, the last three categories create problems by perpetuating communal riots, terrorism, and insurgency.

Causes of Communalism

Several causes are responsible for the prevalence of communalism. Two important causes of communalism are discussed below.

1. The tendency of the Minorities: 

The Muslims fail to be intermingled in the national mainstream. Most of them do not participate in secular nationalistic politics and insist on maintaining tor separate identity. The elite among the Muslims has failed to generate the appropriate national ethos.

2. Orthodoxy and Obscurantism: 

The orthodox members of minorities feel that they have a distinct entity with their own cultural pattern, personal laws, and thought. There are strong elements of conservatism and fundamentalism among Muslims. Such feeling has prevented them from accepting the concept of secularism and religious tolerance.

3. Design of the Leaders: 

Communalism has flourished in India because the communalist leaders of both Hindu and Muslim communities desire to thrive in the interest of their communities. The demand for a separate electorate and the organization of the Muslim League was the practical manifestations of this line of thought. The British rule, which produced the divide and rule policy, separated the electorate based on religion and strengthened the basis of communalism in India. Ultimately the partition of the country into India and Pakistan provided further an antagonistic feeling towards each other.

4. Weak Economic Status: 

A majority of Muslims in India have failed to adopt scientific and technological education. Due to their educational backwardness, they have not been represented sufficiently in the public service, industry, trade, etc. This causes the feeling of relative deprivation, and such feelings contain the seeds of communalism.

5. Geographical Causes: 

The territorial settlement of different religious groups, especially Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, causes in them wide variation in the mode of life, social standards, and belief systems. Most of these patterns are contradictory, and this may cause communal tension.

6. Historical Causes: 

The Muslims all over the subcontinent are converted from Hinduism, which was facilitated due to the caste-hate relations and under the compulsions of Muslim rulers. The problems of social segregation, illiteracy, and poverty that had set apart the low caste people remain unresolved for them, as the foreign elite that rubbed never shared power with them. Their work ended with the conversion of the Indians, and the converts began by imitating the masters in thought, speech, and dress. It caused their alienation. Gradually, elements of communalism entered the Muslim community. The separatist elements in the Muslim community, from the very start of the national resurgence, had discouraged others in their community from associating themselves with it. As a result, the Muslim League was formed, which demanded the partition of the country.

7. Social Causes: 

The cultural similarity is a powerful factor in fostering amicable relations between any two social groups. But the social institutions, customs, and practices of Hindus and Muslims are so divergent that they think of themselves to be two distinct communities.

8. Psychological Causes: 

Psychological factors play an important role in the development of communalism. The Hindus think that the Muslims are fanatics and fundamentalists. They also believe that Muslims are unpatriotic. On the contrary, the Muslims feel that they are being treated as second-rate citizens in India and that their religious beliefs and practices are inferior. These feelings lead to communal ill-feeling.

9. Provocation of Enemy Countries: 

Some foreign countries try to destabilize our country by setting one community against the other through their agents. Pakistan has played a role in fostering communal feelings among the Muslims of our country. Pakistan has been encouraging and promoting communal riots by instigating the militant sections of the Indian Muslim community. Pakistan trains Kashmiri youths to destabilize India’s internal security by spreading communal venom.

10. Negative Impact of Mass Media: 

The messages relating to communal tension or riot in any part of the country spread through the mass media. This results in further tension and riots between two rival religious groups.

Factors responsible for communalism in India

Factors responsible for communalism in India can only be understood in the colonial context. One must understand that the differences between Hindus and Muslims were not the reason for communalism because these differences were there during medieval times. Hindus and Muslims lived with their own distinct identities, but they had a common, unifying culture. They learned each others’ traditions, and customs and evolved a common language, ‘Urdu.’ Even in the fields of music, painting, architecture, administration, dress, and food, they learned a lot from each other. The difference in faith alone wasn’t a reason for conflict. The differences arose only during the colonial period (mainly post 1857) when many developments were seen, and they were responsible for the rise and growth of communalism in modern India. The British, in order to establish their supremacy in its colonies and expand its power, used divisive tactics of turning Hindu and Muslim rulers against each other. They also encouraged the setting up of communal organizations having extremist religious tendencies.

Following are the factors responsible for communalism in India:

1. Divide and Rule Policy of the British: 

The British rulers adopted the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ to strengthen their roots while living in India. They divided the people of various communities of India and spread the feeling of distrust among them; hence they sowed the seeds of communalism in India. This policy weakens the growing nationalism and national movement in the country.

2. Communal Appeal of Political Parties and Organizations: 

At the time of elections, the political parties and organizations appeal to the people on communal lines to garner their support and keep their communal feelings alive. They find the appeal in terms of communal lines more paying in terms of votes.  In many instances, the communal riots are often politically motivated. These are pre-planned and, most of the time, are preceded by almost identical incidents which rouse religious sentiments among the people.

3. Inertia indifferent Government: 

When the government does not take proper action at the proper time, communalism spreads among the subjects arises. Sometimes the government favours religion and leaves others, which creates differences.

4. Ineffective Handling of Communal Riots: 

Sometimes the central or state governments have proved ineffective in curbing the communal riots in their respective states. It also results in spreading communalism. As a result, communalism is rising in its ugly face in India after the Independence and also creating great problems even in the working Indian political system.

5. Vested political interests: 

Certain politicians or political parties, in order to further their own gains, give indirect support or patronage to communal groups or activities. Some of them may have non-secular tendencies themselves and make political decisions partially encouraging communalism.

6. Flexibility in religion’s civil code: 

There is a lack of a uniform civil code. To assure itself of votes and return to power, the government affords special provisions to certain religious communities to follow their own code. In contrast, other smaller communities are not allowed the freedom to follow their own personal laws and may feel discriminated against.

7. Rise of communal organizations: 

Communal organizations established on the pretext of propagating and promoting religion socially through cultural activities have instead worsened the problem of communal politics.

8. Religious fundamentalism: 

Some religious leaders followed ardently by herds of devotees use their influence through inflammatory speeches to misguide the masses. Especially the ignorant masses get caught up in religious favour and are willing to act violently.

9. Conversions: 

Religious conversions are a sensitive issue in India. It is often undertaken by religious organizations with the promise of food, shelter, etc., to the poor and is viewed suspiciously by everyone.

10. Politicization of local problems: 

Local issues or problems involving different communities, which the local authorities can resolve, are sometimes magnified and given political dimensions to use communalistic passions and often lead to riots. For example, Malegaon and Bhiwandi.

11. Law and Order: 

The administration may fail to take care of minor communal disputes that could flare up into a major clash. There may be several anti-social elements that, in the name of religion, may engage activities such as drug-peddling, smuggling, trafficking, robberies, murder, and so on. Their activities need to be curbed, and they need to be brought to book to maintain social balance.

12. External threats: 

There exist many foreign forces which train extremists and supply them with modern weapons to undertake terrorist activities to fuel communal unrest in the nation.

Suggestions for the Eradication of Communalism:

The following measures may be taken for the eradication of communalism.

1. Abolition of Communal Parties: 

All the political parties which thrive on religious loyalties should be banned or abolished by the government. Even non-political cultural organizations should always be kept under constant vigil so that they cannot preach communalism.

2. Transmission of the Past Heritage:  

Feelings of nationalism should be taught in the minds of people by reminding them about the glorious moments of history in Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs combined with safeguarding the interest of the country.

3. Public Opinion: 

Efforts should be made through mass media to change the attitude of people toward other communities. People must be aware of the evils of communalism.

4. Inter-religious Marriage: 

Youth organizations and other types of associations should be formed in every locality to give an opportunity to people of different communities to come closer and know each other. This may help them to practice inter-religious marriages, which will lessen the social distance among the members of different religious groups.

Both the Government and people should make efforts to eradicate communal tension and conflict.