THE THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNALISM AND ITS GROWTH IN INDIA

Author(s): C. R. ANNAPURNA
Source: India International Centre Quarterly , AUTUMN 2015, Vol. 42, No. 2 (AUTUMN
2015), pp. 25-36
Published by: India International Centre

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26316550

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 THE THEORETICAL
THE THEORETICAL
UNDERSTANDING
UNDERSTANDING OFOF
COMMUNALISM
COMMUNALISM AND
AND
C. R.
ITS
ITS GROWTH
GROWTH ININ
INDIA
INDIA
ANNAPURNA!
ANNAPURNA

between religion and politics. Under it, religion and politics

Communalism
are negatively relatedis
and amutually
harmful deterioration
harm each other. This has of the relationship
a destructive impact on the life, property and psychology of the
common man.

Partition was the result of a typical kind of commu

was sown by the British in India. Its only purpose w
and consolidate their hold through the dictum o
Rule'. This communalism could be named forced co
differentiate it from the one that continues to prevail
The nomenclature is justified, as it was forced upon
India by the British.
British, The
i he common
common people
people and
and leaders
leaders of
ol
were mere puppets in the circumstances created by the
The communalism that exists in India today is more
oriented and has wider implications for Indian soci
than the British could generate. Its origins can be
Independent India in the writings of VD. Savarkar. T
communalism is indigenous communalism. Although
must not be mistaken for popular support, or as someth

PHASES OF GROWTH
The growth of this indigenous communalism can b
taken place in four phases.

FIRST GENERATION OF POLITICS, 1947-65

For the first one-and-a-half decades, independent In

safe hands of the first generation of leaders who were

Autumn 2015, Volume 42, Number 2

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lie QUARTERLY

the ideals of the Freedom Movement nurtur

Moreover, Nehru's secular leadership domina
of those times.

DEFAMATION OF SECULAR POLITICS, 1965-90

With the second generation of leadership

secular ideals and principles were diluted, an
exploited for political gain. This is aptly descri
of political idealism' (Chandra, et al, 20
sentiments of the people were manipulated b
gains rallied around the use of religion. Thi
the phenomenal rise of the Bharatiya Janata P
two seats in 1984 to 85 seats in 1987, because
Masjid issue, especially when Lord Rama en
in India through Ramanand Sagar's tele-epic
it is not only the BJP, but the Congress as w
religion to influence voters.

RISE OF COMMUNAL TENDENCIES, 1991-2000

A clear divide developed between self-acclaim

accused communalists in the country. The fa
have led to the rise of communalism. The i
in the world of politics has had a massive im
Electoral rhetoric revolved around secular
and the ideology of development lost relev
politics has also hindered several progressive re

ACTIVE PHASE OF COMMUNAIISM, 2001-PRESENT

The serious application of religion to politi

Hindu-Muslim riots are not uncommon in
violence plumbed new depths of horror an
2004). The use of state power for furthe
the terrifying characteristic of this phase
Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Trilokpuri riot
the result of meticulous planning.

REASONS FOR THE RISE OF COMMUNALISM IN

The pace at which communalism has spread
Nehru, and reaching its ultimate peak in Go

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 ANNAPURNA : THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNALISM

The results of the 2014 general elections in India put a

notion that electoral secular politics can keep comm
at bay.
The traditional view that communalism is the result of
the British policy of divide and rule, British historiography the
partition of India, economic backwardness, among others, must
be abandoned. They are the causes, but only superficial, which
camouflage the real reasons. Similarly, the Shah Bano case and the
Ram-Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue are highlighted as the main
reasons for the significant rise of communalism in India. In reality,
they were the instruments of pretext that were used as catalysts to
aggravate the already fermenting communal mindset.
Noted historian Bipin Chandra observed: 'Great care has to be
exercised in making a social analysis of communalism, which should
be based on serious empirical and theoretical research' (Chandra,
2008: 605). Thus, an attempt is made to theoretically understand
the reasons for the growth of communalism in India.

THEORETICAL VACUUM

The symptoms of communalism, in the form of communal ideology,

are often ignored until the disease of riots and violence breaks out.
Thus, an enquiry into the theoretical foundations of communalism
is fundamental.

the legacy ol secularism was borrowed largely from the

ideas of Gandhi and Nehru. Nehru's concept of secularism or
'dharma nirpekshata' meant that the state would not be influenced
by religious considerations in enacting a policy. He put great efforts
into fulfilling the institutional and constitutional requirements for
strengthening secularism. From the outset, the Constitution of India
proclaimed secular principles respecting all religions equally. The
right to religion was incorporated in the list of Fundamental Rights,
thus giving equal status to religious minorities.
These efforts came to a standstill after Nehru. Practically
no attempt was made by the Congress to provide a theory or an
ideologue to deal with the changing conditions of the country. In
contrast, the ideology of Hindutva that originated with VD. Savarkar
did not end with him. His book, Hindutva: Who is a Hindu (1928),
still influences communal ideology. This ideology continued to grow
by leaps and bounds, although the central theme revolved around

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IC QUARTERLY

the triptych: 'Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan'. Contr

to this stream of ideology by rightist leaders su
M.S. Golwalker, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Ba
list continues.
M.S. Golwalker in We or Our Nationhoo
defined the nation as a race living in a hered
possessed of common traditions (including re
language) and common aspirations. Similar id
Deendayal Upadyaya's 'Integral Humanism', w
philosophy of the BJP. Subramanyam Swamy con
by writing prolifically against pseudo-secula
Hindutva ideology, which is vehemently followed
This apart, since 1947, the RSS continu
mouthpiece, Organiser; and since 1948, a
Panchjanya. Thus, the Sangh Parivar has put
ever-expanding effort to propagate its ideolo
fighters used print media to strengthen the
Gandhi himself published Young India (1919
(1933 to 1948) to inspire the youth with his writ
was discontinued after his death.
Maneka Gandhi made a similar attempt af
was defeated in 1977. She was the founding-ed
Surya, which eventually helped to rebuild
among the public. It published the interviews
Sanjay Gandhi, and played a crucial role in th
Congress in 1980. This, too, was soon disconti
It was required that the Congress, as a ruling
an authentic debate at the national level a
theories. Instead, when the rightist elements i
the Congress tried to pacify the minorities t
appeasement, further antagonising Hindu commu
The overall conclusion is that there was no
response to control the growing communal i
effort from the Congress think-tank to provide
from communal theories and enhance their r
secularism. With so much rhetoric going on in
left in decline, and the centre not wanting t
will, obviously, lean towards the right. That
communalism is increasing in the country.

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C. R. ANNAPURNA : THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNALISM

A glimmer of relief comes from the academic intellig

across the country. However, these noted writers and th
hardly reach the common man. For example, Ashis Nandy
in the 'Anti-Secularist Manifesto' that he is 'primarily writing
"modern English-speaking gentry'" (1995: 37).What is req
an authoritative allocation of the secular principles and the chu
secular ideology in order to reach the common man in his lang
and at his level of understanding.
It clearly shows that there is a definite theoretical vacuu
the part of self-acclaimed secularists, especially the Cong
contemporary India. Filling this vacuum is essential for the su
of this great phenomenon that has enriched and glorified
history and culture across the world.

ORGANISATIONAL DRAWBACKS

The Indian National Congress has had a long, momentous

before independence. However, after independence it has
tried to harvest the boons of power by virtue of 60 years
freedom struggle (1885-1947). It was Gandhi's leadersh
had recreated the Congress as a mass movement. Further,
gave it a multidimensional recognition. He sought the rem
untouchability, the participation of women, and so on. G
led a number of constructive programmes such as weaving
village industries, new education (nai talim), sanitation and hy
and anti-liquor campaigns. He greatly relied on moral and s
development rather than political development alone.
Another notable contribution by Gandhi was the unifi
of Hindus and Muslims. He used the Khilafat issue to bri
majority of Muslims into the freedom movement. In 1948,
had made all the preparations to go to Pakistan to resolve the
minorities there. It was this intention, more than anything else
was not acceptable to Hindutva ideologists, and ultimately
in his death. Had he lived for another few days and accom
:he visit to Pakistan, relations between the twins born of p
would have been far better. In death, the entire nation mourn
:ommunal violence came to a standstill, and peace was restored
subcontinent, as if to pay homage to the Mahatma.
The overwhelming success of the Congress in the first th
general elections reduced the influence of communal par

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lie QUARTERLY

a great extent. Communalism, it was beli

disappear from the Indian scene. Howeve
leaders failed to realise that communalism
active phases, depending on circumstances,
disappear without an active struggle (Chand
The only initiative in this regard came
Sadbhavana ke Sipahi. Although a Congressm
personal. It was never revived after the deat
in 2005. Secularism, as a principle, requir
policy to be successful. In simpler terms, it ten
to the private realm of faith by decreasing the
an ideology.
Overall, the Congress lost the movem
crucial for its success during the freedom mov
organise on the basis of numbers, movements o
(Basu, 2002: 165). While the Congress concent
to the extent that it forgave its ideology, the
(strengthened) on the beliefs of the people, but
The BJP gets its strength from its paren
RSS, and various arms forming the Sangh P
organisation, abstains from politics, while its m
be politically active. As an organisation, the
to keep itself immune to any unlawful actions
this is the reason behind its successful continu
The BJP fine-tunes its relations with th
with its political needs. Owing to the lim
government, the BJP, under A.B. Vajpayee, t
a moderate party. After a decade in Opposit
back to power in May 2014, with a strong ri
success was with the support of the Vishwa
the religious wing of the Sangh Parivar, whi
to build a temple on the site of the mosque
The VHP further branched out into a youth
help it in its mass-based activities. The Akh
Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation, wa
combat the communist influence on univer
the Sangh Parivar is a complete organisation
and religious wings on the one hand, and w

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 ANNAPURNA : THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNALISM

and youth wings working relentlessly towards the one goal

spreading Hindutva.
Apart from organisational accomplishments, the BJP cou
make use of issues prudently, reaping electoral gains. The R
Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute could have been res
peacefully either through consensus among the religious gr
involved, or through the courts on the basis of law and facts
Congress failed here, too, in spite of support from the Mus
community.
If L.K. Advanis rath-yatra from Gujarat to Ayodhya was
main strategy of success employed by the BJP to enter Delhi in t
1990s, Narendra Modi's elevation from Gujarat to Delhi p
through the Godhra carnage. All in all, the rightists have t
care of the organisational set up, used issues cautiously, and craft
strategies efficiently to their advantage.

INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Changes in international relations had a greater impact on t

secular atmosphere of the country. However, these were not
into consideration to control the changing scenario at home,
technological advancements in the field of communications c
not keep India immune from international politics.

THE COLD WAR PHASE: 1945-90

India reigned in international affairs under the leadership of Neh

The Cold War nurtured the presence of communists who st
a balance with the rightist elements in the country. India rec
financial and technical aid from both the USA and USSR that pus
it towards economic development. The 1971 war with Pakist
which was supported by Cold War politics, helped India to s
down the growth of communalism at home. Overall, the Cold
dominated all other issues across the world, including India.

PERIOD OF TRANSITION: 1990-2000

With the decline of communist ideology and the end of the C

War, the loci of international conflict shifted from ideolog
religion. The fall of the statue of Lenin and the reopening of chur
in Russia are illustrative of this shift. In India, this was exemplif

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MC QUARTERLY

through the demolition of the Babri Masid in

of communism obstructed the formation of cl
and consolidated religious consciousness. T
consolidating phase for the BJP, which became
party in 1996. In 1998, it formed the governme
was voted for a complete five-year term.
India stands as the only liberal, democratic,
the region, surrounded by theocratic, monarchial a
With the unfair implementation of these principle
takes shape is: 'Why does India need to be secula
man, even after sacrificing religion to take up
democracy, is not given his worth by the governm
religion, and further to communalism, is obvious o

THE NEW WORLD ORDER: 2001 ONWARDS

A decade of transformation finally culminated in

attacks on the USA by terrorists. Terrorism, for th
to be identified with religion. Earlier in March,
Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan were destro
The USA retaliated with Operation Enduring
later, India witnessed its worst communal riots
was used as a laboratory for the realisation of th
establishing a Hindu rastra in the country (Meht
Indo-Pak relations are another major influence.
conflict situation and repeated skirmishes on the In
another source of the growth of communalism i
reinvigorate non-alignment to fit the newly em
based on religious conflict. It must integrate secula
alignment policy and pave a new path towards worl

INDIANS HAVE IRONICALLY LOST A GLOBAL HISTOR

LEADERSHIP

In 1929, in 'Letters from a Father to his Daughter', Nehru wrote:

If we want to know something about the story of this world of ours,

we must think of all the countries and all the peoples that have
inhabited it, and not merely of one little country where we may
have been born (Sehgal, 2010: 10).

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 ANNAPURNA THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNALISM

After Nehru, this creed of internationalism faded away. Hardly

anyone reached the magnitude of a true world leader, as had Nehru.
After him, few made it to the position of national leaders. All we
have today are leaders of political parties. Ironically, the era of
globalisation is falling short of global leaders with a global vision.

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION

Education in India is becoming more and more introverted

and influenced by politics. The Ministry of Human Resource
Development decided to replace German with Sanskrit as the third
language in the Kendriya Vidyalayas, arguing that it was against
the three-language formula and 'violated' the national policy
on education.

The presentations made by Captain Anand Bodas and Union

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, at the
recently concluded Indian Science Congress by the International
Science Congress Association (ISCA) further caused concern. The
ISCA, a premier scientific organisation, could not attain its objective:
'to advance and promote the cause of science in India', succumbing
to political pressures.
Oher such claims were earlier made by Sripad Naik, Minister
of State for the ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani,
Siddha (AYUSH). All these statements are in resonance with those
made by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Earlier, in October 2014, Modi had claimed the existence of genetic
science and plastic surgery in ancient India, referring to the birth of
Kama in the Mahabharata, and Lord Ganesha.
It is true that India did make immense scientific progress by
the 6th century ad, the knowledge of which is unfortunately lost.
Instead of claiming mythology as facts, Indian leadership must
investigate why such knowledge, which India actually possessed,
has perished. Glorifying Indian culture, heritage, history and
language should not be at the expense of ignoring the great values
of the world around. Religion should not be allowed to subdue
scientific progress.

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

The expanding network of news channels has unfortunately

watered down the quality of news. Over two decades ago, people

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IC QUARTERLY

all over India watched national news every

programme called The World this Week, pres
The growth of the vernacular media is end
India's vision. International news seldom m
newspapers. An international outlook is alm
national viewpoint is struggling for place.
It may be argued that while the emphas
same time India appears to be withdrawing
scene. A balanced approach is necessary and
emphasis on domestic and international affair

FAILURE OF DEMOCRACY
Francis Fukuyama in his essay, 'End of Fl
causes of problems in stable democracies w
implementation of the twin principles of
which modern democracy is founded, r
the principles themselves. Secularism is
of democracy. Liberty and equality are
democracy and secularism.
Projecting Francis Fukuyama's statement o
safely concluded that it is not démocratisa
democratic principles which is hindering secu
of the principle of equality is clearly visib
urban centres. The inequality in terms of d
old and new parts of any given city of Ind
form of inequalities among people of diffe
centres which become the focal points dur
may infer from this direct illustration that t
a major cause of the growth of communalism
Corruption is another dimension of the fa
Every time there is an agitation against co
communal parties reap the fortunes. The Jan
gave the Jan Sangh much popularity amo
The anti-corruption movements during 20
come to power in 2014.
Apart from democratic principles, the
the people has also contributed to the gro
Emotions and sympathies have played a ma
results. Religion became a dominant factor

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 Il I I M A I I C M
R. ANNAPURNA : THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COM

in India. Therefore, communalism and commu

are on the rise. If religion forms the basis of vo
communalism obviously forms the guiding prin
politics in India.
Overall, the failure of democracy in terms of
processes has contributed to the growth of commun

POSSIBLE THREAT

With the renewed Hindutva ideology of 'one

under one political party', a move towards the po
of Muslims has begun in India. Asaduddin Owa
MP, has broken decades of local allegiance and m
Maharashtra by winning assembly seats. He ha
intention of contesting elections in Uttar Pradesh. B
of its comfort zone of Hyderabad and testing the wa
country, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimee
tap into the increasing discontent with national p
Muslim community.2 Muslims were never united und
party. If the MIM succeeds in this, it will lead to the
the entire nation in the name of religion.
The right wing instigates the minorities thr
and actions. The ghar wapsi programme of conve
the Hindu religion has provoked Asaduddin Owais
are born Muslims. Such political games are not un
masses who become the victims of communal prop
will the BJP, with its right-wing allies, be held resp
a catastrophe in India, even the Congress cannot
defeat in the elections does not reduce its responsibi

CONCLUSION

Ideas have no life of their own; something has t

them or they languish for centuries with no imp
(Sehgal, 2010: 82). This is not only true of ahi
true for secularism, for tolerance is the connect
efforts are being made to spread communalism,
more, efforts are necessary to sustain secularism
government and its leadership have enhance
communal elements in the country, the revival
seems to be an important option.

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lie QUARTERLY

And, finally, taking recourse to religious

good that ultimately triumphs. Communalis
ugly head. However, with frequent occurren
is secularism and communal harmony that will
day will come when communalists will be re
India will survive the communal tremors o
glorify the unconditional virtue of Indian secul

NOTES

1. See Bose (2014).

2. http://www.ndtv.com/article/opinion/is-asaduddin-owaisi-re-inventing-himself
625020?site=classic November, 24, 2014.

REFERENCES

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Success of India's Democracy. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press.
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Sengupta, Outlook, 17 November.
Chandra, Bipin, Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee. 2008. India Since
Independence. New Delhi: Penguin Books.
Fukuyama, Francis. 1992. The End of History and the Last Man. New York: The Free
Press.

Mehta, Uday. 2005. 'Gujarat—Hindu Rastra Laboratory', in Ram Puniyani (ed.),

Religion, Power and Violence: Expression of Politics in Contemporary Times.
New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Nandy, Ashis. 1995. 'Anti-Secularist Manifesto', India International Centre Quarterly,
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Sehgal, Nayantara. 2010. Jawaharlal Nehru: Civilizing a Savage World. New Delhi:
Penguin Books India, Viking.
Varshney, Ashutosh. 2004. 'Understanding Gujarat Violence by Contemporary
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