COMMUNALI

SM

 Communal i
sm,i
nabroadsensemeansast r
ongat
tachment
toone’
sowncommuni ty.I
npopulardi
scour
seinI
ndia,i
tis
under
stoodasunheal
thyattachmentt
oone’sownrel
igi
on.
 It
’sanideologythat,
inorderstounif
ythecommuni
ty,
suppressesdisti
ncti
onswi t
hinthecommunit
yand
emphasizest heessent
ialunit
yofthecommunit
yagai
nst
othercommuni ti
es.
 I
nthiswayitpromot esbel
i
efi
northodoxtenetsand
pr
incipl
es,i
ntol
eranceandhat
redofotherrel
igi
onsandt
hus,
di
videsthesoci
ety.
  Posit
iveaspectofcommunalism st
andsfort
heaf
fi
nit
yofan
i
ndivi
dualtowardshisowncommuni tyi
nvol
vi
ngef
fort
sfor
thesocial
andeconomi cupl
i
ftmentofhiscommuni
ty.
 Howev er,innegat
iveconnotati
on, i
tisanideologywhi
ch
emphasi zestheseparat
eidenti
t yofareli
giousgroupi
n
rel
ati
ont oothergroupswithat endencytopr omotei
tsown
i
nterestsattheexpenseoft heot her
s.

Whati
sCommunal
i
sm?
I
tisbasi
cal
l
yani
deol
ogywhi
chconsi
stsoft
hreeel
ement
s:
-
1)Abelieft
hatpeopl
ewhof oll
owt hesamereli
gionhave
commonsecul ari
nter
estsi.
e.theyhavesamepolit
ical
,
economicandsociali
nter
ests.So,her
esocio- pol it
ical
communal i
ti
esari
ses.
2)Anotionthat
,inamulti
-rel
i
gioussoci
etyli
keIndia,
these
commonsecul ari
nter
estsofonereli
gionaredissi
milarand
div
ergentfr
om thei
nterest
softhefoll
owerofanother
rel
igi
on.
3)Theint
erestsoft
hefoll
owerofthedif
fer
entr
eligi
onorof
di
ff
erent‘communit
ies’ar
eseentobecompletely
i
ncompat i
ble,
ant
agonistandhost
il
e.
Communal ism i
spoli
ti
calt
radeinrel
igi
on.Iti
sanideologyon
whichcommunal pol
it
icsisbased.Andcommunal v
iolenceare
conject
ural
consequencesof communal i
deol
ogy.

Communal
ism i
nIndi
a
  Communal i
sm asapoli
ticalphi
losophyhasi
tsr
oot
sint
he
rel
i
giousandcult
ural
diversi
tyofIndi
a.
 Ithasbeenusedasapol i
ticalpr
opagandatoolt
ocr
eat
e
divi
de,dif
ferencesandtensionsbetweenthecommuni
ti
es
ont hebasisofrel
igi
ousandet hnici
denti
tyl
eadi
ngt
o
communal hatr
edandviolence.
 I
nancientIndi
ansoci
ety
,peopl
eofdi
ff
erentf
ait
hcoexi
sted
peacef
ull
y.
 Buddhawasper hapst
hef
ir
stI
ndi
anpr
ophetwhogav
ethe
conceptofsecul
ari
sm.
 Meanwhil
e,Ki
ngsli
keAshokaf
oll
owedapol
i
cyofpeaceand
r
eli
gioust
oler
ance.
 MedievalIndi
awi t
nessedt hearri
valofI
slam inI
ndi
amar
ked
byoccasionaloccurr
encesofv iol
encesuchasMahmud
Ghazni
’sdestructi
onofHi ndutemplesandMahmudof
Ghor’
sattackonHi ndus,JainsandBuddhi st
s.
 Whi
le,
rel
i
gionwasani
mportantpartofpeopl
e’
sliv
esbut
t
her
ewasnocommunal i
deologyorcommunal pol
it
ics.
 Ruler
slikeAkbarandSherShahSurifol
l
owedther
eli
gious
poli
cyoftoler
ati
ontowardsdi
ff
erentcul
tur
esandt
radi
tion
pract
icedacrosscount
ry.
 However,
somesectar
ianr
ulersl
ikeAurangzebwereamong
t
heleastt
oler
antt
owardsotherr
eli
giouspract
ises.
 Asamodernphenomenonithasaroseasaresul
tofBri
ti
sh
col
oni
ali
mpactandtheresponseofIndi
ansoci
alst
rat
a.
Reasonsbehi
ndCommunal
ism
Themajorfact
orst
hatcont
ri
but
edtowardstheemer
genceand
growt
hofcommunali
sm i
nmodernI
ndi
ainvol
ves:
 Br
it
ishI
mper
ial
i
sm andt
hei
rPol
i
cyof“
Div
ideandRul
e”.
 Disappoi
ntmentanddi saffecti
onamongy oungandaspir
ing
middleclassyouth,causedbyst agnantagri
cult
ure,
absence
ofmoder nindustr
ialdevelopmentandinadequate
employmentoppor tunit
ies,whichisbei
ngexploit
edby
poli
ti
calopportuni
sts.
 Hi
nduandMusl
i
mrev
ival
i
stmov
ement
s
 Acommunalanddist
ort
edviewofIndi
anhi
stor
y,taughti
n
school
andcol
l
egesplayedamajorrol
einr
iseandgrowthof
communalf
eel
ingsamongthemasses.
 Separ
ati
sm andi
sol
ati
onamongMusl
i
ms.
 Ri
seofcommunal
andf
undament
ali
stpar
ti
es.

Maj
orI
nci
dent
sofCommunalVi
olencei
nIndi
a

 Communal v
iol
enceisaphenomenonwher epeopl
e
bel
ongi
ngtotwodiffer
entr
eli
giouscommuniti
esmobil
i
se
andatt
ackseachotherwi
thfeeli
ngsofhat
redandenmit
y.
 Theparti
ti
onofI ndi
awit
nessedmassbl
oodshedand
vi
olencethatconti
nuedupto1949.
 Nomaj orcommunal dist
urbancestookplaceunt
il1961when
theJabalpurri
otsshookthecountryduetoeconomic
competit
ionbetweenaHi nduandaMusl im bi
di
manufacturert
hananyelectoralcompeti
ti
on.
In1960s–Aser iesofriot
sbrokeoutpar t
icul
arl
yinthe
easter
npartofIndia-Rourkel
a,JamshedpurandRanchi -i
n
1964,1965and1967, inpl
aceswher eHindurefugeesfr
om
thethenEastPakistanwerebeingsett
led.
I
nSept
ember
,1969,
riot
sinAhmedabadshookt
he
 consci
enceofthenati
on.Theappar
entcausewastheJan
Sanghpassingaresol
uti
ononIndi
anisat
ionofMusli
msto
showitsi
ntenseopposi
ti
ontoIndi
raGandhi'
slef
twardt
hrust
.
I
nApril
,1974, vi
olenceoccurredi
nt hechawl ort
enement
,in
t
heWor linei
ghbor hoodofMumbai af
terthepoli
ceatt
empted
t
odispersear al
lyoft heDal
itPanther
st hathadtur
ned
v
iol
ent,angeredbycl asheswiththeShivSena.
I
nFebr uary,
1983, t
hev i
olencetookplaceinNellieasfal
l
out
ofthedecisi
ont oholdthecont r
oversi
alstat
eelectionsi
n
1983inthemi dstoftheAssam Agi t
ation,af
terIndir
a
Gandhi’
sdecisiontogive4mi ll
ionimmi gr
antsfrom
Bangladeshtherighttovote.I
thasbeendescr ibedasoneof
theworstpogromssi nceWor ldWarI I
.
I
nOct ober,
1984,t
heant i
-Si
khriot
sbrokeoutaf
tert
he
assassi
nati
onofIndi
raGandhi ,
wheremor et
han4000Si
khs
werekil
ledinDel
hi,
UttarPradeshandotherpar
tsofI
ndi
a.
 Meanwhile,
theBombay -Bhi
wandiri
otswereinsti
gat
edbyt
he
ShivSenawhenitjumpedont heHindutvabandwagont
o
rev
ivethepoli
ti
cal
f or
tunesoftheShivSenawhichhadl
ost
i
tsappeal.
 TheShahBanocont
rov
ersyin1985andt heBabriMasj
id-
Ram Janmabhoomi
contr
oversybecamepower f
ultool
sfor
i
ntensi
fyi
ngcommunal
ism i
ntheEight
ies.
 Thecommunal
viol
encetouchedi
tsapogeeinDecember
1992whent
heBabriMasji
dwasdemolishedbyri
ghtwing
part
ies.
 Thi
swasfol
l
owedbytheworstr
iotsofpost-
independence
I
ndia-i
nMumbai
,Sur
at,Ahmadabad,Kanpur
, Del
hiandother
pl
aces.
I
n2002,Gujar
atwi
tnessedcommunalr
iot
swhenv
iol
ence
wast
ri
ggeredbyburni
ngofatrai
ninGodhr
a.
InMay,2006ri
otsoccurr
edinVadodaraduet othemuni
cipal
counci
l'
sdeci
siontoremovethedar
gah( shri
ne)ofSy
ed
Chisht
iRashi
duddi
n,amedievalSuf
isaint.
I
nSept ember,2013, Utt
arPr
adeshwi tnessedthewor
st
vi
olenceinrecenthistorywi
thclashesbetweentheHinduand
Muslim communi t
iesinMuzaffarnagardist
ri
ct.
 Si
nce2015,
mobl ynchi
ngisqui
tepr
eval
enti
nIndi
aasnear
90peopl
ehavebeenkil
led.
I
tcanbet er
medasmanuf acturedcommunalv
iol
enceas
thr
oughtheuseofsocial
medi aandrumour
ssoci
etyis
pol
ari
zedalongr
eli
giousli
nes.

Fact
orsResponsi
blef
orCommunalVi
olence

 Div
isiv
ePol i
ti
cs–Communal ism i
softendef
inedasa
pol
iti
caldoctr
inet
hatmakesuseofr el
i
giousandcult
ural
di
ffer
encesinachiev
ingpol
i
ticalgai
ns.
 EconomicCauses–Unevendev
elopment ,cl
assdivi
sions,
pover
tyandunempl
oymentaggr
av atesinsecuri
tyi
nt he
commonmenwhi chmakethem vulnerabletopoli
ti
cal
manipul
ati
on.
 Hist
oryofCommunalRi ots–Pr obabi
li
tyofrecur
renceof
communal ri
otsinatownwher ecommunal ri
otshave
al
readytakenplaceonceortwiceisst
rongerthaninatown
whensuchr i
otshaveneveroccurr
ed.
 Poli
ticsofAppeasement–Promptedbypoli
ti
cal
consider
ati
ons,andgui
dedbythei
rvest
edint
erest
s,pol
it
ical
part
iestakedecisi
onswhi
chpromotecommunal v
iol
ence.
 I
solationandEconomi cBackwar dnessofMusl i
m
Communi t
y–Thef ai
l
uretoadoptt hescienti
fi
cand
t
echnol ogi
caleducati
onandt hus,i
nsuff
icientrepresentat
ion
i
nt hepubli
cservice,i
ndustr
yandt radeetchasl edtot he
feeli
ngofrelat
ivedepri
vati
onamongMusl i
ms.
 Ther esurgenceofHindu-Musl
i
m economiccompeti
ti
on,
especiall
yamongt helowerandmiddlecl
assstr
atahas
fuel
ledthecommunal ideol
ogy
.
 Administ
rat
iveFai
lur
e–Aweakl awandor
deri
soneoft
he
causesofcommunal vi
olence.
 Psychol ogicalFactors–Thel ackofint
er-
personalt
rustand
mut ualunder st
andingbet weent wocommuni ti
esoften
resultinperceptionoft hr
eat,harassment,f
earanddangerin
onecommuni tyagainstthemember softheother
communi ty,whichint urnleadstofight
,hatr
edandanger
phobi a.
 Rol
eofMedi a–I ti
softenaccusedofsensat
ional
ism and
di
sseminatesrumoursas"news"whichsometimesresult
ed
i
ntofur
thertensi
onandr i
otsbetweentwori
valrel
i
gious
gr
oups.
 Soci
almediahasalsoemergedasapowerf
ulmedi
um t
o
spr
eadmessagesrelat
ingt
ocommunal t
ensi
onorr
ioti
nany
par
tofthecount
ry.

Measur
est
oDealwi
thCommunal
ism
 Therei
sneedtorefor
mi npresentcr
imi
nal
justi
cesyst
em,
speedyt
ri
alsandadequatecompensati
ontothevi
cti
ms,
mayactasdeterr
ent.
 I
ncreaseinr
epresent
ati
onofminor
it
ycommunit
yand
weakersect
ionsinal
lwingsofl
aw-
enfor
cement
,tr
aini
ngof
 for
cesinhumanri
ght
s,especi
all
yint
heuseoff
ir
ear
msi
n
accor
dancewit
hUNcodeofconduct.
 Codifiedgui
deli
nesfortheadminist
rat
ion,special
ised
tr
ainingforthepoli
ceforcetohandl
ecommunal r
iotsand
sett
ingupspecialinvest
igat
ingandprosecutingagencies
canhel pindampingmajorcommunal disgruntl
ement .
 Emphasi sonvalue-or
ient ededucati
onwithf ocusonthe
valuesofpeace, non-violence,compassi
on, secular
ism and
humani sm aswel lasdev el
opingsci
enti
fi
ct emper
(enshrinedasaf undament alduty
)andrationali
sm ascor e
valuesi nchi
ldr
enbot hi nschoolsandcolleges/univer
sit
ies,
canpr ov evi
tal
inpr ev
ent ingcommunal feeli
ngs.
 Gover nmentcanadoptmodel sf
ollowedbycount r
iesl i
ke
Malay si
at hathasdev el
opedear l
y-
war ni
ngi ndicatorst o
preventr aci
alcl
ashes.
TheMal aysi
anEthnicRel ationsMoni toringSy stem ( known
byit
sacr onym Mesra)t hatmakesuseofaqual i
tyofl if
e
i
ndex( i
ncludedcri
teriasuchashousi ng,health,incomeand
educat i
on)andaper ceptionindext ogaugepeopl e’sneeds
andf eeli
ngsaboutr acer elati
onsint heirarea.
 Alsot heHongKongmodel ofcombat i
ngcommunalism by
sett
ingupa“ RaceRelat
ionUnit”topr
omot er
aci
alharmony
andf acil
it
ateint
egrat
ionofethnicminori
ti
es,
canbe
emulat edbyIndia.
 RRUhasest abl
ishedahotl
ineforcomplaint
sandi nqui
ri
es
onracialdi
scri
minati
on.Meanwhil
e,tocreateawareness
aboutcommunal har
mony,RRUtalkstoschoolsoncultur
e
ofethnicminori
ti
esandconceptofraci
al di
scri
minati
on.
 Gover
nmentcanencourageandsupportci
vilsoci
etyand
NGOstorunproject
sthathel
pcreatecommunal awareness,
bui
ldst
rongercommunityrel
ati
onandcult
ivati
ngvaluesof
communalharmonyinnextgenerat
ion.
  Thereisaneedf orminori
tywel
fareschemest obelaunched
andimplementedef f
ici
entl
ybyadmi ni
str
ati
ontoaddressthe
chal
lengesandv ari
ousformsofdiscri
minati
onfacedby
them i
njobs,housinganddail
yli
fe.
 Apro-
acti
veappr
oachbyNat i
onalFoundati
onforCommunal
Harmony(NFCH),
thebodyresponsi
bleforpromot
ing
communalharmonyisneeded.
 NFCHpr ovidesassist
ancef orthephysicaland
psychol
ogicalrehabil
i
tati
onoft hechil
dv ict
imsofcommunal
,
caste,
ethnicorterr
oristvi
olence,besi
despr omoting
communal harmony ,frat
erni
tyandnational i
ntegr
ati
on.
 Alegisl
ati
onisrequir
edtocurbthecommunal vi
olence.
Communal Vi
olence(Pr
event
ion,Contr
olandRehabil
it
ati
on
ofVicti
ms)Bil
l,2005mustbeenact edsoon.

Resour
ces:
ht
tp:
//www.
your
art
icl
eli
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y.com/
essay
/communal
i
sm-
in-
indi
a-causes-
and-
sol
uti
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poi
nts/
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i
sm

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soni
ndi
a.com/
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i
sm-
meani
ng-
and-
issues/

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tp:
//www.
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icl
eli
brar
y.com/
soci
ety
/pr
obl
ems-
of-
communal
i
sm-
in-
indi
a-essay
/4091