The constitution of India declares India as a secular state. Every citizens of the country is free to profess and practise the religion of his/her choice. Yet communalism and casteism are two serious problem confronted by Indian society and Indian political system.
Communalism
India is a vast country where people belonging to many religion live. Some of the important religions practised by its people are Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. By ‘Communalism’, we mean the opposition of religious communities of each other. It is an ideology which emphasizes the separate identity of a religious group in relation to other groups and often a tendency to promote its own interests at the expense of others. In simple term, communalism means to distinguish people on the basis of religion—to treat the people belonging to one’s own religion as friends and others as enemies. In India, the origin and growth of communalism can be traced to the pre-independence days and the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ adopted by our British rulers. In the first was of independence in 1857, all the Indians—Hindus and Muslims had united to throw the British rulers. After crushing the revolution the British rulers adopted the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’. They encouraged the differences on the basis of religion among the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. There were communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in the country which ultimately led to the partition of the country on communal lines in 1947.
After independence, it was felt that communalism would not raise its ugly head in free India, but the feeling of communalism has rather increased in independent India. Communal riots take place in India every now and then.
Communalism in India after independence
The main factors and forces which have encouraged the growth of communalism in contemporary India are as under:
Economic Backwardness of the Muslims: The Muslims who decided to stay in India after partition are educationally and economically backward than the Hindus. This economic disparity between the two communities is creating misunder-standing and gap between them.
Communal Parties and Organisations: There are some well-known communal political parties in India. They not only represent particular communities but also thrive on communal politics. Their leaders often use them to create communal tensions so that they can fish in troubled waters. Besides these political parties, there are non-political organisation setups on communal line. They encourage the uneducated and semi-educated communally sensitive elements to indulge in communal fights in the name of religion.
Electoral Compulsions: Today, politics in India is purely ballot-box oriented and elections have become end in themselves. Selection of candidate for a particular constituency is generally made after considering the relative strength of different castes and communities residing in that constituency. Votes are demanded on communal lines during the election.
Policy of Separation and Isolation among the Muslims: Various communal groups among the Muslims are also working against the goal of communal unity in the country. They represent the Muslim opinion in the country and have been spreading the feeling that the benefits of modernisation in business, education and government jobs have not been enjoyed by the Muslims. It promotes separatist tendencies among the Muslims in the country.
- Terrorists activities by neigh-bouring countries to spread communal hatred : Pakistan has been sending terrorists and instigating the funda-mentalists in India to sow the seeds of discord among the various communities and disturb communal harmony in India. Though the communal harmony in Punjab has not been disturbed again, but the terrorist activities in Jammu & Kashmir, encouraged and aided by Pakistan, led to the large scale migration of Kashmiri Pundits from the State.
- Ineffective handling of Communal riots by the State govern-ments: Some state governments have proved totally ineffective to curb communal riots which erupt there frequently. Infact, they lack political will and even resources to curb these riots.
As a result of the above factors, communalism is again raising its ugly face in India after independence and is creating great problems even in the working of Indian political system.
Effects on Indian politics
Communalism is affecting the Indian politics in the following ways:
Organisation of Political parties on Communal Basis: In India, many political parties have been organized on communal basis. The Muslim League, the Hindu Maha Sabha, the DMK, the Akali Dal are organised on religious basis. Political leaders also encourage communalism to get votes at the time of elections.
Selection of Candidates for Elections: Political parties, while selecting candidates for the election, give great importance to communalism. A candidate belonging to the majority community in that constituency is given ticket of the party.
Voting on Communal Basis: Voters generally vote on communal lines. Besides, communal riots often break out in many parts of the country. After getting elected, the representatives try to safeguard the interests of their community and ignore national interests. These conditions hinder the progress of democracy in the country.
The above practices foment jealousy and hatred among the various communities living in India and sometimes even lead to communal riots. Therefore, communalism should be recognised as enemy number one of our secular democratic polity.
Remedies
- Political parties based on religion should be banned.
- Communal organisation should be banned.
- Religious places should not be allowed to be converted into places of religious fanaticism and for spreading communalism.
- Disputed religious places should be converted into national monuments.
- Indian history should be written in proper perspective.
- Inter-religion marriages should be encouraged.
- Through the use of Mass-Media, people should be taught to respect the religious feelings of one another. Press, Radio, Television and Cinema should be used for this.
- Religious and moral education, based on good things of all the religions should be given to the students in schools and colleges.
Casteism
The base of India’s social structure is caste and sub-caste. Infact, caste systems has been an integral part of Indian society. In ancient times, ‘varna’ system started in India which had four ‘varnas’—Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Thus, the basis of caste. Some of these became higher castes and others lower castes. The people belonging to higher castes started treating other as belonging to lower castes and, thus, started the practice of ‘untouchability’. It is matter of shame that the Indian culture, which gave to the world the message of world-brotherhood, should call some of its own brothers untouchables.
The Brahmins established their monopoly over temples and other places of worship. The Shudras were declared ‘untouchables’. They were neither allowed to enter the temples nor even to take water from the well which was used by upper caste Hindus. The members belonging to lower castes, were treated worse than animals. The system developed under Muslim and British rule. The Britishers, in accordance with their policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, further encourage it.
Although the Constitution provided for abolition of untouchability, yet the practice continues to some extent even up to the present day. Laws have been passed by Parliament for the abolition of untouchability. The Constitution also forbids discrimination against any citizen on the basis of caste or religion. Nobody can be denied access to any shop, public restaurant, hotel or place or entertainment or use of wells, parks and roads etc. on grounds only of caste, religion, community, etc. Seats have been reserved for them in Parliament, State Legislatures and even in local bodies up to year 2010.
Influence on Indian Democracy
The influence of casteism on Indian democracy can be discussed under the following heads:
Dangerous for National Unity: Casteism has divided the whole society. Elections are fought on caste basis which divide the people into various groups. It is dangerous for national unity.
Indian Democracy is based on Casteism: Since the first general elections held in 1952, all political parties put up only those candidates who belong to the dominant caste group in that constituency. In the formation of ministry caste plays a dominant role. In some states, only a person belonging to a particular caste can become the Chief Minister.
Due to casteism, voters are not able to select a candidate of their choice—they have to vote for the candidate who belongs to their caste. This not only encourages bad political tradition, but also leads to groupism on the basis of caste.
Violent Activities: Due to casteism, tension spreads during elections which leads to violence. We daily read in the newspaper about caste-based violence, which often leads to political instability and confusion.
It violates the basic principles enshrined in our constitution for promoting a secular democratic system.
The worst affect of casteism is expressed when the dominant castes try to deny to the weaker castes the avenues of progress and the right to equality. Similarly, when the land-owning castes, in order to maintain their traditional hold on land, wealth and power try to deny to other, backward castes their rights and opportunities given to them by the constitution and by the laws.
