Communalism, in its broadest definition, refers to a strong sense of

belongingness to one's own community. It is a relationship between

communities that is characterized by distrust, hatred and antagonism
which in particular affects the socio- political landscape of the
country. The late nineteenth century saw the articulation of communalism, which
drew on the social consciousness of the people that was created by primal caste and
religious identities. In colonial and postcolonial periods, such foundational identities
which were non-antagonistic in the traditional order, underwent major modifications. In
fact, early historians of communalism have traced their origin and evolution to the
colonial era. During the colonial era, communities increasingly functioned along the
lines of caste and religion which limited their consciousness within these confines. As a
result, the idea of belonging to a certain religion was established. This lead to physical
confrontations between members of different communities and eventually violence
became integral to communalism in India. Since then. communal riots became the end
product of communal politics as physical conflicts were the most perceptible aspect of
communalism. However, communalism is more than just a violent phenomenon; it is a
multidimensional phenomenon that takes on various forms to affect the socio- political
landscape of the land and its people. Presently, the overarching manifestation of
communalism has been its impact on politics. The few impact that communalism has
have had on politics are illustrated with the help of a few examples below:
It encouraged the adherence to orthodox beliefs and values, as well as intolerance and hatred
of other religion which has created a divide in the society. In fact, the brutality of religious
violence has steadily increased over the previous decade, as was evidenced by the recent
Delhi riots of 2020. The riot was primarily caused by the Hindu mob which targeted the
Muslims.Two-thirds of those who were shot, slashed repeatedly, or set ablaze were Muslims.
Four mosques were set burned by protesters, making the property destruction to
disproportionately Muslim-owned property destruction. Many Muslims had fled these areas
before the end of February. Some Muslims had fled to their ancestral villages even in districts
of Delhi unaffected by the violence, fearing for their personal safety in India's capital. By
mid-March, a large number of Muslims had gone missing. A mosque was vandalized and a
Hanuman flag was placed on one of the minarets of the mosque. The rioting had begun at in
North East Delhi, as a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Such riots
have never been a major concern for the government since the riots have always been a
vital part that has characterized the Indian history. Ever
since then, and even now, we feed on the notion that India
is a Hindu country, as ofcourse propagated by the BJP
regime and Muslims are either foreigners or ‘aliens’ that
do not belong to this land and h have been led astray from
their true destiny. Such orthodox notions can only explain
why there has never been a true ‘unity’ in India.
 Another major impact that communalism had was that ethnic minorities are now
seen with mistrust, by all authorities including police, intelligence organisations
paramilitary forces, the army, etc. There have been numerous instances where
members of such a minority group have been harassed and jailed, only to be
released guilt-free by the court rulings. It would not be wrong to assert that the
significant presence of such marginalised groups in jails is on account of the caste
stereotypes and over-policing of specific communities. In fact, as per the latest report
of Prison Conditions by The Scroll, one in three jail inmate is either a Dalit or an
Adivasi. The plight of such minorities is such that they remain under trial for serious
crimes like attempt to murder, sedition etc. for years, sometimes extending up to 10
years and more, only to be released free by the courts eventually. The case costs
them thousands of rupees, and they are left unemployed and economically stressed-
the setback that takes them another few years to recover from. Further, there is no
provision for such victims to be compensated for their lost livelihood, lost means of
income, societal stigmas, or mental distress suffered by their family as a result of
this.

Further, it is through the use of communal cleavages, that poltical parties win elections or
form governments. Political parties like the Congress, Janata Dal etc. have been using
communalism for political gain.

The Akali Dal, RSS, the Jamaat-e-Islami promote communalism as an ideology. It is felt that
these organizations such as these are dangerously chauvinistic and sectarian.The RSS
mobilises just a subset of people who accept the divine ordination of ‘Hindus as the
keepers of world peace,’ whereas tJamaat-e-Islami treats all the Muslims other than
Sunnis, with contempt. These organizations are anti-democratic in nature. The RSS
views the cult of the leader to be supreme, whereas the Jamaat-e-Islami believes in
God's sovereignty; hence, neither believes in the sovereignty of its people. These
groups are thought to reflect communal thinking in its most extreme form. Because
of the pervasiveness of communalism in society, the secular mobilisation has been
compromised.

Further, politics in practice, by and large, uses communal cleavages to win election or to form
governments and even to engineer riots. Political parties like the Congress, Janata and Lok
Dal have been using communalism in an opportunistic fashion; the left political parties have
on occasion compromised with communalism. On the other hand, the Akali Dal, RSS,
Bharatiya Janata Party, Muslim League, Shiv Sena and the Jamaat-e-Islami profess
communalism as an ideology.
The role of Jamaat-e-Islami, RSS and the Akali Dal has been discussed in detail. It is felt that
these organizations are dangerously sectarian and chauvinistic. The Jamaat-e-Islami treats all
Muslims other than the Sunnis, with contempt, the RSS mobilizes only a section of people
who accept the divine ordination of ‘Hindus as the custodians of world peace and harmony’.
Secondly, these organizations are anti-democratic. Jamaat-e-Islami believes in the
sovereignty of God, the RSS considers the cult of a leader to be supreme; hence both do not
believe in the sovereignty of the people. It was felt that these organizations represent
communal thinking in its aggravated form.
Communalism has lead to rise in state-sponsored discrimination on the basis of religion. A recent
example would be the proposal by the Uttar Pradesh government to enact a law banning ‘love jihad’-
the alleged practise of Muslim men wooing Hindu girls for marriage with the ulterior motive of
religious conversion. The law would criminalize religious conversions by marriage and annul
marriages involving a change of religion by the woman. Thus, the values promoting communal
animosity are sought to be legitimized by the state itself. The use of terms like ‘love jihad’ in a
communal sense by the politicians often flares religious sentiments while undermining the autonomy
and freedom of consenting adults to forge matrimonial alliances. The intervention of the state in
matters of religious beliefs of inter-faith couples lends support to the notion of ‘communalisation of
politics.’

In recent times, we have also seen the role of communism in influencing politicians to make religious
appeals to voters before elections. Political communalism, in this sense, flourishes as the political
parties and politicians, in their pursuit of power, make communal slogans and play ‘vote bank
politics’ on the basis of religious cultural identity. It is worth noting that communal electioneering is
expressly prohibited by the Representation of the People Act of 1951, which includes civil and
criminal penalties for candidates who make religious appeals, however, this seldom stops political
candidates from making such appeals. In some instances, this also leads to large-scale communal riots
close to elections for polarization of votes. Therefore, communal violence is also on the rise as a result
of political parties' aggressive religious rhetoric, which breeds animosity among members of diverse
communities, especially in cities comprising a large population of religious minorities..

Lastly, another effect of communalism-induced violence, has been seen through

ghettoization and the refugee issues. An rise in violence directed any specific
community triggers a mass exodus and stampede, which eventually results in a large
number of death. This was seen, for example, in Bangalore in 2012 when thousands
of people from the northeast who lived in Banglore, boarded trains for Guwahati after
having heard the rumours fearful of violence directed at them.
with regard to persons from the North Eastern states, which was sparked by a
rumour.

Thousands of panic-stricken people of the northeast living here boarded trains,

headed to Guwahati, on Wednesday night, following rumours of violence targeting
them

Further, ghettoization and refugee problems are other dimensions of communalism

induced violence, whether its inter country or intra country.

Ghettoization and refugee problem are other

dimensions of communalism induced violence,
whether its inter country or intra country. Sudden
increase in violence against any particular
community causes mass exodus and stampede which
in turn kills many number of people. For example,
this was seen in the case of Bangalore in 2012, with
respect to people from North eastern states, which
was stimulated by a rumour.

The Indian state is becoming increasingly communal. The Constitution of India does
not consider society to be organized around religious, caste or together ascriptive group lines.
The Indian Constitution ensures that all citizens, regardless of religion, caste, or
gender, have certain rights

It is a danger to Indian constitutional ideals, which promote secularism and religious

tolerance, in addition to having an impact on society. Citizens do not fulfil their basic
responsibilities to the country in this circumstance. It poses a threat to the nation's
unity and integrity as a whole. It just encourages hostility among people.

The Indian State, is increasingly getting communalized. The Constitution of India does not
consider society to be organized around religious, caste or together ascriptive group lines.
The Constitution guarantees certain rights to all citizens, irrespective of religion, caste, sex,
etc. But at the same time, it has some elements of communalism built into it. Apart
from having effect on the society, it is also a threat to
Indian constitutional values, which promotes secularism
and religious tolerance. In that case, citizens don’t fulfil
their fundamental duties towards the nation. It
becomes a threat for the unity and integrity of the
nation as a whole. It promotes only the feeling of
hatred in all directions, dividing the society on
communal lines.

Are communal riots incited by the British divide-and-rule

policy since the late 18th century? Or have communal
hostilities been part of India’s history since the
12th century, when Muhammad of Ghor took on Prithviraj
Chauhan in the battle of Tarain. Hindu Right retorts, by
virtue of its favourite ‘two-nations theory’ that

inter religious riots of Muzza

over the last decade or two, as evidenced by the events in Gujarat in 2002 and Orissa in
2004. The most visible conflicts are those that occur on a physical level.

More importantly, during the last decade or so the brutality of communal violence has
steadily increased, as is evident from the events of Gujarat in 2002 and Orissa in 2004. P
Th e implications of the two-nation theory shaped the political and cultural agenda of
communalism.

In popular discourse in India, it is understood as unhealthy

attachment to one’s own religion.
It’s an ideology that, in order to unify the community, suppresses
distinctions within the community and emphasizes the essential unity of
the community against other communities.
In this way it promotes belief in orthodox tenets and principles,
intolerance and hatred of other religions and thus, divides the society.
Positive aspect of communalism stands for the affinity of an
individual towards his own community involving efforts for
the social and economic upliftment of his community.
However, in negative connotation, it is an ideology which emphasises
the separate identity of a religious group in relation to other groups
with a tendency to promote its own interests at the expense of the
others.