COMMUNALISM (INDIA)

Communalism is an ideology which states that society is divided into religious communities whose interests differ. Communalism makes a person feel antagonism towards another community. Communalism arises out of religious fundamentalism.

Communalist is a person 'who is essentially interested in 'using' and 'exploiting' religion for some personal or private, or for political, electoral purpose with the sole objective of gaining power, position, status, influence, wealth and cheap popularity'.

The two forms of Communalism in India are:

a) Communal Tension  - Communalism assumes the form of  'communal tension' when the religious sentiments and feelings of other religious community are grieviously hurt, on petty issues such as playing of loud music near a religious centre.

b) Communal Politics - The concept of communal politics involves the active use of religion as the sole basis for the new political process, grounded in popular participation, undertake by communal or religious political parties and organisations, which claim to be the representative of their co religionists.

Communal politics is opposed to secular and national politics. 

Some examples of communal violence in India

1947 – Partition of India – which led to hatred, violence, rape and bloodshed. The large number of refugees both in India and Pakistan were a result of communal hatred and these displaced people had to struggle to survive. There as a huge problem of rehabilitation of refugees.

1984 – Anti Sikh Riots – The appeal for separate state of ‘Khalistan’, Operation Blue Star and the assassination of the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, by her Sikh bodyguard, led to communal violence among Hindus and Sikhs. However, Hindus and Sikhs now have cordial relations.

1989 – Ethnic Cleansing of Kashmiri Hindu Pundits – Extremist terrorism in Kashmir led to the Kashmiri pundits fleeing from Kashmir and taking refuge in their own country.

1992 – Babri Masjid Demolition, Ayodhya – This incident saw destruction across the country. Mumbai was subjected to a communal holocaust. The issue is still in court. This was followed by the Mumbai blasts.

2002 – Godhra – The Sabarmati Express with karsevaks returning from Ayodhya was set fire to. This was followed by the Gujarat riots where Hindus massacred the Muslims.

2002 – Akshardham – Attack by two terrorists from Lashkar-e-Toiba

2012 – Assam Communal violence – clashes between tribal population and Bangladeshi immigrants led to riots between Bodos and Bengali speaking Muslims.

2013 – Muzaffarnagar Violence – Ethnic clashes between Jats and Muslims have said to have occurred after a facebook post and due to the eve teasing case in Shamli.

CAUSES OF COMMUNALISM

Past History – The partition is still a bone of contention among the two communities.

Vote bank politics – votes go to leaders who belong to the same community

Presence of communal parties - who reflect communal ideologies.

Majority religious community dominance – Certain leaders promote religious ideologies to gain followers

Poverty – and unemployment lead to backwardness and illiteracy leading to a narrow mindset and does not encourage forward thinking.

Isolation of minority communities – leads to communal tensions in society

Cross border factors – lead to insecurities and communal tension

Religious conversion – every Indian has the right to follow the religion of his/her choice.

Failure of government – to take necessary action in times of communal clashes causing further hatred and destruction of innocent lives as well as public property.

Bias Media – may support a particular community and its cause leading to unnecessary misunderstandings

Psychological causes – Mindsets of individuals and their prejudiced beliefs can lead to communalism.

EFFECTS Or CONSEQUENCES

Communalism leads to intolerance and violence

Flow of the country’s resources lead to unproductive activities instead of productive ones

Damage to innocent lives and public property

Foreign investors do not want to risk their funds which leads to loss to the country’s economy

Disruption of law and order due to riots and anti-social activities

Problem of refugees and their rehabilitation cripples the nation.

MEASURES TO RESOLVE COMMUNALISM

While it is important to encourage a feeling of nationalism, this must be done by safeguarding all 

citizens irrespective of religious background.

Communal political parties must be stopped from promoting a communal agenda which will destroy 

the unity of the nation.

Mass media must be used to promote peace and equality and not inter religious conflict.

There must be religious tolerance among people.

There is a need for people to change their mindsets and to learn to live in peace, brotherhood and harmony.

The election commission must ban all political parties that promote a communal agenda.

Laws and a just judiciary are important when making decisions on communal issues and ensuring justice for all citizens.

Education, economic development and employment opportunities will reduce poverty and in turn improve the mindset of the people.

Communalism is a psychological disorder and the youth and children must be made aware of the negative impact of this stigma.

ADDITIONAL INFO

6 Dimensions of Communalism (as given by T. K. Ooman)

The Assimilationist Dimension - Small religious groups which prefer to get assimilated, integrated with a bigger group. E.g. Jains are called Hindus

The Welfarist Communalism - When a particular community tries to pool in resources for the welfare of ones community members. The welfare - in the field of education, health, cultural growth, etc. For e.g. Jain Hospital, Minority Colleges etc

Retreatist Communalism - When small communities choose to keep away from politics and choose to retain its original identity. e.g. Parsi Community

Retaliatory Dimension - When one community attempts to harm another community. This is views as the most destructive form of communalism. Most of the communal riots are associated with teh retaliatory form of communalism.

Separatist Dimension - stands for a community wanting to maintain its cultural identity and demanding ones separate territorial identity in order to retain its separate existence. e.g. Jharkhand

Secessionist Dimension - When a community demands not just a separate territorial identity but also asks for a separate political identity. e.g. Khalistan. It is the most harmful dimension to the unity and welfare of the nation. It does not imply merely the creation of a new state. It also implies a direct threat to the unitary democratic set up. 

WAS THE PARTITION OF INDIA INEVITABLE AND UNAVOIDABLE?

 The answer to this question differs widely with the nationality of the writer- Indian, Pakistani or British.

In India the partition of the country is considered a tragedy. It is projected as the logical culmination of the long-standing British policy of Divide and Rule and the Muslim League’s ideology of communalism and separateness. The two worked together and forced the Indian National Congress to agree to the partition of India. Indian writers largely place the blame at the door of the Congress leaders and agree that if they had shown adequate understanding, tact and boldness, the partition of the Motherland could be avoided.

In Pakistan however, the partition is considered as quite logical and inevitable, and the growth of Muslim nationalism is traced in the depth of Indian History.

Among the British scholars there is no unanimity of opinion about the rationale of the partition of India and there is difference of opinion among historians and those writers who served the ‘raj’ in India.

Whatever the verdict of history, credit must be given to Mr. M. A. Jinnah for his adroit handling of the situation. He was a very shrewd politician and often dodged his political rivals by clever somersaults. He rose form strength to strength and earned the epithet of Qaid-i-Azam (Great Organizer).

Jawaharlal Nehru attributes the growth of Muslim communalism to the delay in the growth of a strong Muslim middle calss; this enabled the League to work up the psychology of fear among the emotionally excitable Muslim masses. The cry of ‘Islam in danger’ brought the Muslim masses under the banner of the League and Mr. Jinnah stood forth as the political messiah. All said, the acts of omission and commission on the part of the Hindu Mahasabha further fanned the fanaticism of the Muslim League.

Mr. V. D. Savarkar, the President of Mahasabha, advocated ‘a uncompromising doctrine of Hindu ascendency’ and openly announced that ‘the only way to deal with the Hindu-Muslim schism was to insist that all India was Hindustan and that the Muslims must reconcile themselves to the status of a minority community in a democratic state which orders life by majority rule.

INTERGROUP CONFLICTS

Def: A group is ‘a number of people who share some common characteristics’.

Characteristics of groups

A feeling of unity among members is essential to form a group. The members of a group treat each other as their own and a sense of fellowship between them develops naturally.

A sense of ‘we’ feeling among members develops among members of a group, whereby they help each other and defend themselves collectively against harmful elements. They treat others as outsiders.

A group is characterized by common ideals, interests and values of life, shared by its members and this similarity or commonness promotes unity among them.

A group is marked by the similarity of behavior of its members. Each group has certain customs, social norms and procedures that are acceptable to its members. Members violating them are punished. Thus, group has control over actions of its members.

 

Some suggestions to minimize Intergroup conflict

Intergroup conflicts lead to serious social and political disorders threatening even the vital interests of the nation. Therefore, every citizen of India must find ways and means to resolve such conflicts.

Social thinkers have suggested three methods

Cooption – To coopt means to add. If two groups do not agree on a certain issue, members of the dissenting group are absorbed in the dominant group through what is called as cooption. When the dissenting members get an opportunity to express their views and understand the other groups point of view, it is comparatively easy to resolve the conflict.

Accommodation – means willing to oblige the other or readiness to listen to the other’s points of view and to accept the solution if found satisfactory. Conflicting parties can resolve their conflicts by accommodation each other’s demands, views and claims.

Cooperation – is the basis of social life. Since no one is totally self-sufficient, one has to seek the help of others to achieve ones goals and satisfy ones needs. Human beings cooperated with each other to achieve common and diverse goals. Cooperation helps to achieve our objectives more effectively and efficiently by working together. It creates positive human relations and bonds of interdependence between the cooperating parties. By cooperating with each other we also derive social and psychological benefits such as feeling of security.

The forces of communalism, casteism, linguism and regionalism have been thwarting progress in the direction of building a strong and prosperous India based on ideals of democracy, secularism, social and economic justice. These forces can be overcome only by inculcating in Indian people faith in the ideals of national unity, secularism, equality, or more balanced economic policy.

 

PRINCIPLES BEHIND FORMING OF STATES | STATES REORGANIZING COMMISSION | INDIA

 

PRINCIPLES BEHIND FORMING THE STATES ON LINGUISTIC GROUNDS: STATES REORGANISATION COMMISSION

A special commission was appointed by the Government of India in 1953 to explore the feasibility of making the linguistic factor the main criterion in re-demarcating state boundaries. (Provincial boundaries of British India had been drawn either by historical accident or for reasons of administrative convenience). The Congress recognized the federal realities of Indian civilization in which, as the SRC Report of 1956 puts as, ‘linguistic homogeneity – reflects the social and cultural pattern of living, obtaining in well-defined regions of the country’.

The imperative of national unity however came to the forefront in the post – Partition trauma of independent India, and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru feared a chain reaction of secession. Reluctantly, he asked the SRC to tackle question of linguistic communities, which coincided with regional diversities.

The SRC’s recommendations were made according to certain governing principles: to preserve and strengthen the unity of India; to keep in mind administrative, economic and financial considerations as in the implementation of five year plans; and to pay attention to cultural linguistic homogeneity as reflected in democratic and popular movements.

The SRC published its report and recommendations in 1955 and a States Reorganization Act followed in 1956. The boundaries of states in Southern India were redrawn in closer conformity with traditional linguistic regions, and eight major language groups got separate states immediately: Assamese – Assam, Bengali – West Bengal, Kannada – Karnataka, Kashmiri – Jammu and Kashmir, Malayalam – Kerala, Oriya – Orissa, Tamil – Madras (Tamil Nadu), Telugu – Andhra.

The SRC rejected demands for a separate Jharkhand state for lack of popular support in all the affected districts. It also rejected demands for a Punjabi Subah on grounds of disguised communalism. The SRC could not insist that fifty percent of all centrally recruited civil servants posted in a given state be non-residents, but it refused to recommend that recruitment to state civil services be restricted to sons of the soil.

After agitations in both Gujarati speaking and Marathi speaking areas, the State of Bombay was divided between Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960. And after a change in leadership in the Akali Dal, its demand for a separate Punjabi speaking state was also conceded in 1966.

Despite the apparent political turbulence associated with the reorganization of states, the SRC recommendations and their implementation prove the genius of the Nehru era in managing centrifugal forces through democratic solutions and pluralistic compromises.

ILLITERACY

A person is said to be literate if he can read and write in any language. However, this is ‘simple literacy’ and serves no useful purpose. Today the emphasis has shifted to basic education.Basic education involves functional literacy.

 Functional literacy has three main goals:

To enable the learner to read and compute (carry out simple arithmetical calculations)

To raise the capabilities of the learners in respect of their personal, economic and social life.

To create awareness in the learner about his / her rights and duties.

The quality of the population of a country depends upon the level and type of education attained by people. The greater the majority of people are educated the faster the rate of industrial and agricultural development takes place in a country and vice versa. Ever since independence the elimination of illiteracy has been one of the main concerns of the government.

CAUSES OF ILLITERACY

Poverty – is the root cause of all socio economic problems. Poor people expect their children to work and add to the family income. It is not possible for them to meet the expense of education. Even when education is free they find it difficult to withdraw their children from work and send them to school.

Caste system – in our country has discouraged the socially backward form acquiring literacy

Low status ow women – has discouraged most people from sending their daughters to school as household work is considered to be their main responsibility.

Inadequate facilities – some children have no school in the vicinity and have to travel long distances. Wherever schools exist, there are no pucca buildings, no blackboards, no drinking water and schools are single teacher schools.

Population explosion – no efforts of increasing the rate of literacy in our country will be successful unless and until the population growth is arrested.

EFFECTS OF ILLITERACY

Slow economic development – illiteracy is one of the factors that contribute to the slow rate of economic growth of the country

Unemployment – illiteracy contributes to unemployment as illiterate persons have much less scope of getting employment

Low efficiency – illiteracy contributes to low quality of labor force and poor productivity

Poverty – is both the cause and effect of illiteracy. The earning capacity of an illiterate is less and therefore a majority of them are below the poverty line

Backwardness – a society with a majority of illiterate people remains backward as superstition and orthodoxy play dominant roles and it is difficult to introduce social reforms. 

Religious fundamentalism becomes deep rooted and people become easy prey to communalism

Exploitation – Illiteracy leads to exploitation and social and economic oppression. Many farmers are ignorant about land reforms and other benefits which they could receive from government schemes.

FOUNDATION COURSE I NOTES

Click on the topics you want to learn / read more about

Module I

Overview of Indian Society

Understand the multicultural diversity of Indian Society through its demographic composition: population distribution according to religion, caste and gender.

Religions of India

Appreciate the concept of linguistic diversity in relation to the Indian situation;

Understand regional variations according to rural, urban and tribal characteristics;

Understand the concept of diversity as difference.

Module II

Concept of Disparity 1

Understand the concept of disparity as arising out of stratification and inequality;

Explore the disparities arising out of gender with special reference to violence against women, female foeticide (declining sex ratio) and portrayal of women in media. 

Appreciate the inequalities faced by people with disabilities - vision impairment, hearing impairment, socially handicapped, and understand the issues of people with physical and mental disabilities.

Module III

Concept of Disparity II

Examine inequalities manifested due to the caste system and intergroup conflicts arising thereof;

Understand intergroup conflicts arising out of communalism.

Examine the causes and effects of conflicts arising out of regionalism and linguistic differences

Module IV 

The Indian Constitution

Philosophy of the Constitution as set out in the Preamble,

The structure of the Constitution: Preamble, Main Body and Schedules, Fundamental Duties of the Indian citizen, Tolerance, peace and communal harmony as crucial values in strengthening the social fabric of Indian society

Basic features of Indian Constitution

Module V

Significant aspects of Political Processes

The party system in Indian Politics

Local self government in rural and urban areas; the 73rd and 74th amendments and their implications for inclusive politics

Role and significance of women in politics