Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Structure
22.0 Objectives \
22.1 Introduction
22.2 Communalism: Meaning and Components
22.2.d What is Communalism
22.2.2 Components
22.2.3 Myths Regarding Communalism
22.3 Emergence and Growth
22.3.1 Socio-Economic Factors
22.3.2 Role of British Policy
22.3.3 19th Century Revivalism
22.3.4 Political Trends in the Late 19th Century
22.3.5 Role of Communal Organisations
22.3.6 Weaknesses in the National Movement
22.4 Communalism in the 20th Century
22.4.1 Partition of Bengal and the Formation of the Muslim League
22.4.2 Separate-Electorates I
22.0 OBJECTIVES
You all are quite familiar with the term 'Communalism'. But have you ever tried to think
what communalism actually means, and how it has come to become such a strong force in
our society. This unit intends to answer some of the questions regarding communalism in
India. After reading this unit you can:
explain what communalism is and distinguish between various types of communalism
see how communalism emerged in the Indian society and polity
evaluate the role of the various forces which enabled it to grow, and
trace its development in the early 20th century.
22.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the major priorities of any developing country is to maintain a unity of its people.
In the history of modem India, such a unity was put to a very severe test by the growing
communalisation of the Indian people, politics and society. Where as the Indian National
Movement aimed at achieving the unity of all Indian people, communalism sought to
divide them along religious lines, by creating and spreading false barriers of religious
communities, religious interests and ultimately religious nations also. This unit will tiy to
tell you how communalism in India was born and thrived because of a combination of
various forces and their development. For instance, the peculiarity of the socio-economic
development of lndia in the 19th century, the impact of the colonial rule as well as the role
of certain colonial policies, the weakness of the anti-communal nationalist forces and
finally the active role played by the like the All India Muslim League
and the All lndia Hindu Mahasabha,
Growth of Communajism up to
22.2 CONIMUNALISM: MEANING AND COMPONENTS the Second Wnrld War
Communalisnl has different meaning to different groups and peoples, institutions, and
organisations. At the same time, it can be a belief, a way of thinking, an ideology, a value
and an instrument. It can he used in a variety of ways and it can be studied from a number
of perspectives. It is therefore very important to know what communalism is.
22.2.2 Components
Words like communal ideology, communal tensions, communal violence, communal
politics, communal feelings. etc. are often used inter-changeably. It is important to
distinguish one from the other and see the various components of.communalism. A
distinction was made for the first time in 1939 by K.B. Krishna (Problem bf ~ i n o r i t i e s )
between communal tension and communal politics. Communal tension was a temporary
phenomenon, occurring in spurts, manifesting in communal violence and mainly involving
the lower classes of people. Communal politics. on the other hand, was a persistent and
continuous phenomenon and involving in the main, the middle classes, landlords and
bureaucratic elements. The only thing that they had in common was that they both derived
t M r sustenance from communal ideology.
Communalism can also be seen as a 'weapon' and a 'value.' It was a 'weapon' for those
who stood to benefit from it, who had a vested interest in its continuation, and who used
communalism to serve their desired political ends.
Besides a 'weapon' communalism was also a 'value' for all those who had accepted
communalism, come to believe in it, had interanalised communal ideas and incorporated
them into their life-style. Such people, deeply religious in their outlook, and invariably the
victims of communal ideology and propaganda, were not the beneficiaries of
communalism but its victims. They were always emploited by the agents of communalism
who had a vested interest in it.
We have seen thus, that there are many component or aspects of communalism.
Communalism should best be seen as a structure, with all the components (communal
tension, communal politics, weapon, value, etc.) constituting parts of the structure. They
are held together by this structure, and connected with each other through the thread of
communal ideology, which sustains the structure.
Communalism as a value
I
I
economy of India.
1 English as the official court language in 1833, deprived the upper class Muslims of their
wealth, power and influence. As it happened, owing to the uniqueness of the Indian
situation, the loss of the Muslims invariably went in favour of the Hindus who had
responded more positively to education and other modemising forces than, the Muslims
who remained largely backward. In other words, "economic development within the
British imperialist system benefited a group of Indians of whom a far larger proportion
were Hindus than Muslims". (W.C. Smith, Modern Islam in India, 1946)
Muslims, adapted later than Hindus to such British novelties as education, the new
professions, posts in the administration, and culture. Consequently an intellectual
awakening resulting in a re-assessment of the old beliefs, customs and values was also late
among the Muslims, compared to Hindus. This time 'lag' between Ram Mohan Roy and
Syed Ahmed Khan for instance, would help to explain, a feeling of weakness and
insecurity on the part, of the Muslims, leading to a reliance on religion and traditional ways
of thinking.
This 'lag' theory i.e. the theory of a time lag between the Hindus and.Muslims in
responding to the forces of modemisation and socio-economic development in the 19th
century, has not been found to be wholly acceptable by recent historians. It should,
therefore be taken with same reservations. One major reason is, its different application in
different regions. If the Muslims as a group suffered in Bengal and as a result of the British
rule, they benefited in some other parts like U.P. Still the 'lag' theory holds importance
Nationalism: The Inter War for as it gives us a clue to the 20th century phenomenon of the Muslims' alienation from
Years-I )
the national mainstream. The relationship of the lag theory with communalism was
summed up very accurately by Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter to his friend, written in 1939.
"After the Indian mutiny of 1857, there was a period of intense repression and both
the Hindus and the Muslims suffered from it but the Muslims probably suffered
more. Gradually people began to get over this suppression. The Hindus took to
English education which led to state services much more than the Muslims. The
Hindus also took the professions and to industry in large numbers. Among the
Muslims, the reactionary elements, prevented the spread of modem education as well
as industry. The Hindus developed a new middle class during this period, while the'
Muslims still continued to remains largely feudal. The Hindu middle class laid the
foundation of the nationalist movement, but about a generation later, the Muslims
went the same way, took to English education and state service and professions and
developed a new class also. A conflict arose between the various. middle class
elements for state services and this was the beginning of the communal problem in
its modem phase."
Communalism in India was, therefore, a struggle for jobs between vaiious communities,
unequal educationally, politically and economically. Historian K.B. Krishna (Problems of
Minorities, 1939), one of the earliest scholars to'work on the communal problem felt that
these struggles were accentuated in an epoch of the development of Indian capitalism,
under feudal conditions, by British imperalism by its policy of counterpoise. It was
therefore a product of inrperalist-capitalist-feudalstructure of India. To quote K.B.
Krishna: "History of the communal representation is the history of British policy in India,
also one of the growth and diversity of middle class consciousness in India and the demand
of the middle class for political powers. But British imperialism is one aspect of the
problem. The social economy of the country another."
It is now time to look at the role of British imperalism and politics in promoting the growth
of communalism.
i interests. This policy was formulated with a double edged purpose to make friends by
catering favourably to the aspirations of some newly emerging sections, and then to
counterpoise one against the other, to offset one sectional interest against the other, one
I class against the other. This was, in a nutshell, the role of British policy, a policy of
I concession, counterpoise and coercion.
~nck this policy became operative, its net result was the spread of communalism. But even
while pursuing this policy, the communal ideology became a useful allay in serving the
political objectives of the government. Generally speaking, at this stage, there were two
main objectives before the government.
F 1 To make some friends in the society, to offer patronage to some sections mainly in
II order to exercise influence and extend control and thereby strengthen its base in the
I society.
1 2 To prevent a unity of the Indian people. If all the sections of the society could unite
under any ideological influence, they could threaten the British empire. Therefore
communal ideology had to be used and spread to deny the oneness of the Indian people.
This was done more effectively in the 20th century when the communal demands and
organisations were encouraged to negate the legitimacy and credibility of the nationalist
demands, ideology and organisation. Thus on the one hand, all attempts were made to
keep the Muslims away from the Congress, and then the clitims of the Congress were .
run down on the grounds that it did not represent the Muslims!
Communalism served the government in yet another way. Communal deadlock and the
worsening communal situation could also be used as a justification for the continuation of
the British rule. The argument they gave, went something like this-the major political
parties i.e. Congress, Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha could not come io an
agreement among themselves. The Indian people were divided amongst themselves, and
were therefore incapable of governing themselves, if the British rule ended. The
impossibility of any Indian alternative to British rule was, thus, emphasized. This was the
British policy of first encouraging communalism and then using it for their own political
ends. We shall emphasize this point further, when we deal with the developments in the
20th century.
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Revivalism
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Another important feature of this period was the growth uf Muslim separatism, because of
the surfacing of Hindu revivalistic tendencies during the Swadeshi movement,
the British propaganda that the partition of Bengal would benefit the Muslims, and
spurts of commurial violence. A number of communal riots broke out in Eastern Bengal,
in the p e r i d following the Swadeshi movement.
21.4.2 Separate-Electorates
The declaration of separate-electorates in the legislative bodies in 1909, as a part of the
Morley-Minto reforms is a major landmark in the history of communalism. Separate-
electorates meant grouping of constituencies, voters and elected candidates on the basis of
religion. In practical terms it meant introducing Muslims constituencies, Muslim voters
and Muslim candidates. It also meant that non-Muslim voter could vote for a Muslim
candidate. The election campaign and politicisation was thus strictly confined within the
walls of each religion. All this was to have disastrous consequences.
The introduction of the separate-electorate was based on the notion that the Indian society
was a mere collection of interests and groups and that it was basically divided between the
Hindus and Muslims. Indian Muslims were on the other hand, regarded as "a separate,
distinct and monolithic community". It was also based on the motive of entrusting power
in the hands of potential allies as well as preventing Hindu-Muslim unity. Arguing against
joint-electorates, Minto pointed out to Morley:
"under the joint scheme, the Hindu would not only be able to elect their own men,
but a Mohammedan as well, who might not represent bona fide Muslim interests."
According to these reforms, the Muslims were assured that they would be granted
representation in the councils, not merely according to their 'numerical strength', but also
according to their 'political importance'. Thus Minto assured a Muslim deputation:
"The pitch of your address, as I understand it, is a claim that in any system of
representation ... the Mohammedan community should be represented as a
community ... you justly claim that your numerical strength, both in respect to the
political importance of your community and the service it has rendered to the Empire
entitle you to consideration. I am entirely in accord with you ... I can only say to you
that the Mohammedan Community may rest assured that their political rights and
. . ..
interests as a community will be safeguarded in any administrative reorganisation
.. . - , 9.
The impact of the separate electorates was as follows : Growth of Communalism up to
, a the Second World War
it created theinstitutional structures containing separatism,
it was to produce severe constraints on the Congress and limit its space for nationalist
activities,
it was to activate the communal groups and organisations, and
it ensured the impossibility of a common agreement among Indian political groups.
~ b w e v e rthe
, impact of the separate-electorates was to surface in Indian politics only later.
David Page (Prelude to Partition, 1982) in a recent book has summed it up very well :
"The granting of separ'ate-electorates appears to have been an attempt by the Raj to
shore up a crucial part of its system of control ... it was an attempt to extend and
broaden the base of its rule by extending and broadening the support of its traditional
allies."
22.4.4 Khilafat
The Khilafat agitation, about which you have already read in Unit 18, was a product of a
particular political climate where Indian nationalism and Pan-Islamism went hand in hand.
It witnessed Muslims' participation in the national movement at an unprecedented level.
However, communalism started making inroads into Indian politics and society, just after
the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement following the violence at Chauri-
Chaura. There were many symptoms of increasing communalism in the period 1922-27:
Communal violence erupted at an unprecedented level. In U.P. alone there were as many
as 91 riots between 1923-1927. Issues of cow-slaughter and music before mosques come
into prominence.
Khilafat bodies representing Hindu-Muslim unity gradually petered out.
The Muslim League got revived during 1922-23 and began to openly preach separatistic
politics.
It's Hindu counterpart, the Hindu Mahasabha, formed in 1915 and lying inactive since
then, found good climate in which to revive itself.
Movement like Tahligh (propaganda) and Tanzim (organisation) arose among the
Muslims. They were partly a response to Shuddhi and sangathan among the Hindus.
These were again in part a response to the forcible conversions made during the Moplah
rebellion. All this vitiated the atmosphere considerably.
R.S.S. (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) was founded in 1925.
There were many reasons for this worsening communal situation:
The Khilafat alliance brought religious heads into politics. But they entered politics on
their own terms. The withdrawal of the movement however, did not lead to a withdrawal
of their participation from politics. This gave a certain religious interpretation to politics.
The nature of the politicgl structure itself contained the seed the communalism through
the introduction of separake-electorates. This structure was enlarged by the
Montagu-Chelmesford reforms (1919) which created space for communal propaganda
and political alignments along communal lines.
The spread of education without a corresponding growth in the employment
qpportunities left an army of unemployed educated people who could use religion for
jobs, favours, etc.
The political situation as it stood in 1927 was far from satisfactory. Nationalist forces were
divided and at a low ebb. Communalism was gaining mo'mentum.
Nationalism: The Inter War
Years-I
Dear
The Khilafat Working llbmmittee held a t Nagpur deoided
/ that two days before the special asssions of the ~ongress(mibble
of August) a aomrrlOtee o f reegonsible persona be helb t o oonsider
the fulure polioy an8 l i n e o f aotion f o r the LChilafGt organisatiar:
A s t h i e a .very important matter I d e a r n ~ s t l yrequest you t o kindly.
sttend the committee meetin& a t Bombay t o help 9s i n our delibra-
t i o n and t o enable us t o deoide our fffut\ire line of aotion.
I remain
Yours sincere1y
.
toward the Civil Disobedience Movement.
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ii) What were the Hindu counterparts to the movements Tabligh and Tanzim?
-
4 What were the lessons that the election results brought to the Congress?
a gradual alienation of the Muslims as a group from the national mainstream of politics,
I 1 and
their consolidation, on a communal platform, for a communal movement leading to
Pakistan, launched by the Muslim League under the leadership of M.A. Jinnah.
These twin processes became possible because communalism in the 1940s began to attract
the masses and became a mass force and ideology. This was a process which had begun
in the 1920s. got accelerated in the 1930s and gathered a further momentum in the 1940s.
We have seen the development of this process till 1940. You will read about the latter
Nationdim. The Inter War
Years-1 22.6 KEY WORDS
Permanent Settlement: A new land settlement introduced by the British government in
1793 in Bengal. According to this, the cultivators, most of whom were Muslims, lost their
proprietary rights and became mere tenants.
Nehru Report: The Indian response to the Simon Commission. It was a constitution
prepared in 1928, named after one of its framers, Motilal Nehru and was in many senses a
forerunner to the constitutipn of India, implemented in 1950. The Nehru Report was
dropped by the Congress in 1930 on the grounds that it had not been accepted by all the
political parties.
Government of India Act, 1935: The third important constitutional measure undertaken
by the British government after the Morley-Minto (1909) and Montagu-Chelmsford (1P19)
reforms. It provided for elections under separateelectorates and a much wider franchise
than before. It also provided provincial autonomy which meant that the party which won
the elections could form a government in the provinces. Most of the powers were however
reserved at the centre.