Communalism in India: Meaning, Three Stages, Colonial Roots, Post-Independence Riots, Causes and Remedies (UPSC Notes + PYQs)

What communalism is, and is not

Being religious is not communal; nor is pride in one’s faith. Communalism begins when religion becomes the basis of a political identity set against others. Historian Bipan Chandra describes three stages: (1) people of one religion have common worldly interests; (2) these interests differ from those of other religious groups (liberal communalism); (3) they are mutually hostile and cannot be reconciled (extreme communalism, using fear and hatred). The jump from the second to the third stage, in the late 1930s, made Partition likely.

Colonial roots

• British census categories (from 1871-72) fixed religious identities in official records.
• Colonial historians like James Mill split Indian history into “Hindu” and “Muslim” periods.
• Partition of Bengal (1905) was justified partly on religious lines; the Muslim League formed at Dhaka on 30 December 1906.
• Separate electorates by the Morley-Minto Reforms (1909), extended in 1919 and by the Communal Award (1932).
• Hindu Mahasabha (1915) and RSS (1925) grew alongside the League; the Khilafat-Non-Cooperation unity broke after 1922 with riots such as Kohat (1924).
• The two-nation theory, the Lahore Resolution (1940), Direct Action Day (1946) and Partition violence that killed an estimated several hundred thousand to two million people.

After independence

Causes today

• Political: vote-bank mobilisation on religious lines.
• Economic: competition for jobs and trade; communal riots often hit specific business rivalries.
• Social: segregated neighbourhoods, few inter-religious marriages, stereotypes.
• Media and social networks: rumours and doctored videos spread faster than official denials.
• Administrative: biased or slow policing; low conviction rates in riot cases.
• External: cross-border propaganda and events abroad.

Laws, bodies and committees

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups, earlier IPC 153A), Section 299 (outraging religious feelings, earlier IPC 295A).
• Representation of the People Act, 1951, Section 123(3): appeal on religion is a corrupt practice.
• Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991: freezes the religious character of places as on 15 August 1947 (Ayodhya excepted).
• National Integration Council (1961).
• Sachar Committee (2006) on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims; Ranganath Misra Commission (2007) on religious and linguistic minorities.
• Tehseen Poonawalla (2018): Supreme Court guidelines against mob lynching, including nodal officers in every district.

Remedies and way forward

Fast, impartial investigation and trial of riot cases; police reforms (Prakash Singh, 2006); diverse police forces; district-level peace committees; action against hate speech regardless of who speaks; fact-checking and platform accountability; mixed schools and housing; and steady economic development that reduces zero-sum competition. Gandhi’s fast in Noakhali and Calcutta (1946-47) and ordinary people who sheltered neighbours during riots remind us that civil society can break the cycle.

How scholars explain communal riots

Riots are not spontaneous outbursts of ancient hatred; research shows that they follow patterns. Historian Bipan Chandra argued that communalism is a modern ideology built on the false belief that religious communities have separate political and economic interests. Political scientist Paul Brass, studying Aligarh, described an “institutionalised riot system”: known people who spread rumours, gather crowds and convert a minor quarrel into violence, often at election time. Varshney, comparing riot-prone and peaceful cities (for example Aligarh with Calicut), found that everyday contact was not enough; cities with strong associational links across communities (traders’ bodies, unions, clubs and parties with mixed membership) kept peace because those networks squashed rumours and policed their own areas. The lesson for administrators is that riots can be prevented when local institutions and police act early.

The national movement’s answer

The national movement tried several routes. The Lucknow Pact (1916) between the Congress and the Muslim League accepted separate electorates in return for joint demands for self-government. The Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements (1919-22) brought Hindus and Muslims onto a common platform. The Nehru Report (1928) proposed joint electorates with reserved seats, which Jinnah answered with his Fourteen Points (1929). Leaders such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (with his Khudai Khidmatgars) and M.A. Ansari stood firmly against the two-nation theory. Critics argue the Congress sometimes compromised with communal groups for short-term unity; supporters reply that it kept a secular, inclusive idea of India alive through Partition.

Attempts at a law on communal violence

The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, drafted by the National Advisory Council, proposed duties on officials to prevent violence and liability for those who failed. Critics, including several States, said it intruded on law and order (a State subject) and treated communities unequally; it was never passed. Today, communal violence is handled through general criminal law, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita’s powers to prevent unlawful assemblies, and Supreme Court directions on hate speech that ask police to register cases on their own (suo motu) without waiting for a complaint.

Communalism in the age of social media

Rumour has always been the spark of communal riots. Social media has made it faster and wider. Edited videos, fake images and messages forwarded in closed groups have preceded violence in several places, and lynchings on child-lifting and cow-smuggling rumours in 2017-18 led the Supreme Court, in Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018), to issue preventive, remedial and punitive guidelines, including a nodal officer in each district. The IT Rules require large platforms to remove unlawful content quickly and trace the originator in serious cases. Fact-checking units, quick police communication on social media and digital literacy are now part of riot prevention.

PYQ trend

Mains GS-I asks communalism regularly: impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism (2023), unity in diversity despite communalism and regionalism (2026). Ethics case studies (2024, 2026) put you in charge of a district facing communal tension. Prelims touches it through history (Communal Award, 2012).

Communalism: UPSC angle

Communalism UPSC PYQs (Prelims)

Questions UPSC has actually asked, from the official papers. Pick an option to check yourself.

Mains PYQs on this topic

Questions from the official UPSC Mains papers (2023-2026 in the Battle IAS Mains bank), newest first. Each links to a model answer.

1. UPSC Mains 2026 · GS Paper I · Q8 · 10 marks

   Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.

   Model answer and approach

2. UPSC Mains 2023 · GS Paper I · Q20 · 15 marks

   Discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism.

   Model answer and approach

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