Communalism, Regionalism & Secularism: Communalism and secularism

Communalism: meaning, roots and causes

Communalism is the belief that people who follow one religion share the same social, economic and political interests, and that these interests are opposed to those of other religious groups. It turns religious identity into a political weapon. Religion itself is not the problem; using it to divide is.

Mains 2017 asked candidates to distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India. Religiosity is personal faith and practice (prayer, festivals, pilgrimage); communalism is hostility to other faiths and a demand for political power on religious lines. A religious procession becoming a show of strength, or a place-of-worship dispute becoming a political movement, shows the shift.

Mains 2018: “Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation.” Argue by giving suitable illustrations. Power struggle: leaders mobilise votes or control by stoking fear of the other group. Relative deprivation: a group that feels left behind in jobs, land or status (compared with others) is easy to mobilise. Usually both work together, along with history, rumours and social media.

Mains 2023 asked candidates to discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism. Competition for jobs, land and urban space, migration into cities and unequal gains can harden identities; at the same time markets, mixed workplaces and shared consumer culture also create cross-community ties.

History roots: Prelims 2026 (answer key provisional) asked whether the genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919. All three statements support it (the reforms retained and extended separate electorates, these were meant to counter rising nationalism, and deprived classes rallied around their favours). Answer (d): 1, 2 and 3.

Prelims 2012 asked which were the principal features of the Government of India Act, 1919. Answer (c): 1 and 3 only: dyarchy in the provinces and devolution of legislative authority to the provinces. Introduction of separate communal electorates for Muslims was not new in 1919; it came with the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909.

Indian secularism vs the Western model

Preamble: India is a “SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC”; the words were substituted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 (w.e.f. 3-1-1977) for “SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC”. Article 25(1): “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion”, subject to public order, morality and health. Article 28(1): “No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds.”

Mains 2018: how the Indian concept of secularism is different from the western model of secularism? Discuss. Western (especially French and American) model: a wall of separation; the State keeps away from religion. Indian model: principled distance; the State respects all religions equally but can intervene to reform (temple entry, abolishing untouchability under Art 17), and it can aid minority institutions (Art 30).

Mains 2014 asked how do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West? In the West the debate is mostly about Church and State; in India it is about many religions living together, minority rights, personal laws, reform of practices within religions and communal politics.

Mains 2022: are tolerance, assimilation, and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism? Justify your answer. Largely yes: tolerance (sarva dharma sama bhava), assimilation (shared saints, festivals, music and architecture) and pluralism (equal respect, minority rights) shape it; but the constitutional core also includes equality before law and the State’s power to reform.

Mains 2019 asked: what are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism? Debates over festivals in public places, dress codes, food, religious symbols in schools and offices, and reform of customs through courts show the tension between equal respect and keeping public institutions neutral.

Prelims 2020 tested the claim that the Constitution of India defines its ‘basic structure’ in terms of federalism, secularism, fundamental rights and democracy. Wrong: the Constitution does not define it (the Supreme Court developed it), and statement 2 was also marked wrong. Answer (d): neither 1 nor 2.

Prelims 2017 asked which objective is not embodied in the Preamble to the Constitution of India. Answer (b): economic liberty. The Preamble promises liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.