Add : D-108, Sec-2, Noida (U.P.), Pin - 201 301Email id : helpdesk@campus100.in

Call : 09582948810, 09953007628, 0120-2440265

COMMUNALISM, REGIONALISMCOMMUNALISM, REGIONALISMCOMMUNALISM, REGIONALISMCOMMUNALISM, REGIONALISMCOMMUNALISM, REGIONALISM& SECULARISM AND& SECULARISM AND& SECULARISM AND& SECULARISM AND& SECULARISM ANDIMPACT ON SOCIETYIMPACT ON SOCIETYIMPACT ON SOCIETYIMPACT ON SOCIETYIMPACT ON SOCIETY

[1]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

COMMUNALISM, REGIONAL-ISM & SECULARISM AND

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

CHRONICLEIAS ACADEMYA CIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE INITIATIVE

COMMUNALISM AND ITS IMPACT

Communalism, is a particular kind ofpoliticization of religious identity. It is an ideologythat seeks to promote conflict between religiouscommunities. In the context of a multi religiouscountry, the phrase “religious nationalism” cancome to acquire a similar meaning. In such acountry, any attempt to see a religious communityas a nation would mean sowing the seeds ofantagonism against some other religion/s.Inevitably, the formation of religious and communalidentities in this way is conducive to inter-communalcompetition and conflict, as each group seeks toidentify itself in contradistinction to seeminglymenacing “others.” Powerful elements within suchgroups carefully patrol their borders and regardoverlapping communal or religious identities asthreatening to weaken or sabotage the community,and hence is to be opposed.

India is a land of multiple faiths and religionsleading often to violence and hatred among thepeople. Those who fan this religious violence donot consider religion as a moral order but use it asa means and weapon to pursue their politicalambitions. Communalism essentially leads toviolence as it is based on mutual religious hatred.This phenomenon leads to distinction between acommunal organization and a religiousorganization.

Communalism has divided our society for long.It causes belief in orthodox tenets and principles,intolerance, hatred of other religions and religiousgroups, distortion of historical facts. Mostcommunal riots prior to 1947 were rooted in the‘divide and rule’ policy of the British colonial rule.But after the partition of the country , sections ofthe Indian elite from both the communities are alsoto be blamed for the problem.

Communal violence in independent. India hasbeen caused by many factors. Some general factorsare : First the class divisions of our society and thebackwardness of our economy has resulted in

uneven development of the economy . It is the upperclasses of the less-developed communities that haveenjoyed the fruits of limited growth and hence it isthey who have also enjoyed political power. Overa period of time some sections among this elitedeveloped a sense of rivalry vis-à-vis theircounterparts in other communities. In order todraw support from the masses of their owncommunity, these leaders have often encouragedcommunal feelings to strengthen their politicalsupport. Thus, the traditional beliefs of the societyare perpetuated to the advantage of the elites.When they, many among common people, feelinsecure because of some adverse circumstances,they often tend to rely on religion, which makethem vulnerable to political manipulation to inflamecommunal passions, some times leading to violence.Communalism is tearing apart the rich and closely-knit fabric of Indian cultural pluralism.Our national movement was the biggest and themost widespread anti-imperialist movement inworld history, because it was a movement of allpatriotic elements drawn from the diverse regionslinguistic groups , religious communities ,castes andtribes, rural and urban segments. Intercommunaland Inter-caste tensions and violence have beenrecurrent with increasing numbers of communalriots and caste carnage.

Communal violence also increases becausecommunal parties carry on religious propagandain an offensive manner, thereby creating ill-willamong the members of the various communities.The political parties in India which adopt acommunal attitude should be blamed forencouraging communal feelings which often causecommunal violence. Apart from these generalfactors, some specific local causes also account forcommunal violence in India.

Communal riots occur in towns which have ahistory of communal riots. Aligarh and Hyderabad,among other cities, suffer from this trend. Presenceof a large proportion of religious minorities increasespolitical rivalry between the upper strata of boththese communities who often appeal to theircommunal identity to gain support. Whatever may

[2]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

be the cause of communal violence, whenever itoccurs, it immediately attracts attention of thenation.

Our society class identities still remainsubmerged under caste and communal identities.With economic problems becoming important, theruling elite of our country manages to converteconomic problems like poverty unemployment,price rise, etc. into caste and communal ones. Peopleshould be careful not to be influenced by suchtactics. Economic problems of the people, like-poverty and unemployment must be resolved inthe country before the problem of communalviolence can be totally eliminated.

Revivalism of religious fundamentalism haspitted followers of different religions against eachother. In Kashmir, it is Islam against Hinduhegemony; in Gujarat it is Hindutva forces againstMuslims and in Punjab it is Sikhs against Hindus.These tensions are not conflicts of divergentcultures; each one of them is potentially and actuallyapolitical movement aiming at realizing not a merecultural or religious objective .The objective is openor camouflaged, political communalism isperversion of religion from a moral order to anarrangement of contemporary political con-venience.

In our country, eight major religiouscommunities co-exist, namely the Hindus(82%),Muslims (12.12%), Christians (2.6%), Sikhs (2%),Buddhists (0.7%), Jains (0.4%), Parsis (0.3%) andJews(0.1%). Quite often communalism is wronglyused as a synonym for religion or simply for asense of belonging to a community. A communalistis basically interested in using and exploitingreligion and that too for political, electoral andeconomic gains.

Communalism is exploitation of religion,sometimes open and sometimes subtle. Historically,communalism and casteism had their inception inthe Moghul and British periods. Hindu-Muslimrelations under the Mughal rulers depended largelyon the sovereign’s will and disposition.

After 1857 , the Muslims suffered a great dealat the hands of the British, for the community asa whole was not trusted .The establishment ofMuslim League in 1906 was another milestone inHindu-Muslim relations. The Muslim League andCongress organizations started drifting apart fromeach other. Muslim fanaticism started asserting itselfagainst liberal and accommodative views. TheBritish played their part deftly and saw to it that

the two communities never reached a realunderstanding on vital issues.

The establishment of Pakistan as the new homefor the Muslims in 1947 should have solved theproblem of relations between the communities butto the eternal regret of everybody, who had firmand unshakable belief in amity and friendshipbetween the two communities, the problemscontinue to plague the life and endeavour ofhundreds of millions of people on both sides of thegreat divide to live in peace. There have been warsbetween India and Pakistan in 1947, 1965, 1971,and 1999. The 1971 war resulting in thedismemberment of Pakistan and the emergence ofBangladesh.

Scores of Muslim organizations have come intoexistence, some drawing their inspiration fromacross the border and others openly and brazenlydirected by Pakistan. During the British periodcommunalism and its major manifestation,communal riots were imputed to Two Nationstheory and in the context, it was presumed thatthe partition would solve the problem forever. Butin retrospect ,our comprehension of Hindu-Muslimreality seems erroneous.8000 communal riotsoccurred since India’s Independence.

Communal conflicts not only create bitternessand a sense of insecurity but have far-reachingeconomic and political consequences as well. Theyretard economic development. Politically theyweaken the forces of democracy and damage thenation’s image outside the country. Socially, theyloosen the bonds of unity among members ofdifferent communities and corrode the very basisof national solidarity. It is, therefore necessary toponder over the question of communal riots thattake place and devise measures to prevent theirrecurrence. Communal riots still take place onflimsy grounds

Though many Hindus and Muslims in Indiaare today infected by the virus of communalism,the fact is that before 1857 there was no communalfeeling at all in most Indians. There were, no doubt,some differences between Hindus and Muslims, butthere was no animosity. Hindus used to joinMuslims in celebrating Eid, Muslims used to joinHindus in celebrating Holi and Diwali, and theylived together like brothers and sisters.

How is it that around 150 years later, suspicion,if not animosity, has developed between the twomajor religious communities in our subcontinent?Today, Muslims in India find it difficult to get a

[3]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

house on rent from Hindus. When a bomb blasttakes place in India the police, incapable of catchingthe real culprits (because they have no training inscientific investigation), ‘solve’ the crime byarresting half-a-dozen Muslims. Most of them areultimately found innocent in a court of law, butafter spending many years in jail. This has resultedin tremendous alienation among Muslims in India.In Pakistan, things are even worse for the minoritieswho often live in a state of terror, scared ofextremists and religious bigots.

Watershed

1857 is the watershed year in the history ofcommunal relations in India. Before 1857, therewas no communal problem, no communal riot. Itis true there were differences between Hindus andMuslims, but then there are differences evenbetween two sons or daughters of the same father.Hindus and Muslims lived peacefully, andinvariably helped each other in times of difficulty.

No doubt, Muslims who invaded India broke alot of temples. But their descendants, who becamelocal Muslim rulers, almost all fostered communalharmony. This they did in their own interest,because the vast majority of their subjects wereHindus. They knew that if they broke Hindutemples, there would be turbulence and riots, whichno ruler wants. Hence almost all the Muslim rulersin India promoted communal harmony — theMughals, the Nawabs of Awadh, Murshidabad orArcot, Tipu Sultan or the Nizam of Hyderabad.

In 1857, the First Indian War of Independencebroke out, in which Hindus and Muslims jointlyfought against the British. After suppressing therevolt, the British decided that the only way tocontrol India was to divide and rule. Thus, theSecretary of State for India, Sir Charles Wood, ina letter to the Viceroy, Lord Elgin, in 1862 wrote,“We have maintained our power in India by playingoff one community against the other and we mustcontinue to do so. Do all you can, therefore, toprevent all having a common feeling.”

Divide and Rule

In a letter dated January 14, 1887, Secretary ofState Viscount Cross wrote to Governor GeneralDufferin: “This division of religious feeling is greatlyto our advantage and I look forward for some goodas a result of your Committee of Inquiry on IndianEducation and on teaching material.”

George Hamilton, Secretary of State for Indiawrote to Curzon, the Governor General: “I thinkthe real danger to our rule in India … is the gradualadoption and extension of Western ideas … and ifwe could break educated Indians into two sections[Hindus and Muslims] … we should, by such adivision, strengthen our position against the subtleand continuous attack which the spread ofeducation must make upon our system ofgovernment. We should so plan education textbooksthat the differences between the two communitiesare further enhanced.” Thus, after 1857, a deliberatepolicy was started of generating hatred betweenHindus and Muslims. This was done in a numberof ways.

Religious leaders bribed to speak against theother community: The English Collector wouldsecretly call the Panditji, and give him money tospeak against Muslims, and similarly he wouldsecretly call the Maulvi and pay him money tospeak against Hindus.

History books distorted to generate communalhatred: As already mentioned, it is true that theinitial Muslim invaders broke a lot of Hindu temples.However, their descendants (like Akbar, who wasthe descendant of the invader Babur) who werelocal Muslims rulers, far from breaking temples,regularly gave grants to Hindu temples, organisedRam Lilas and participated in Holi and Diwali (likethe Nawabs of Awadh, Murshidabad and Arcot).This second part of our history, namely, that thedescendants of the Muslim invaders, almost all,promoted communal harmony, has been totallysuppressed from our history books. Our childrenare only taught that Mahmud of Ghazni broke theSomnath Temple, but they are not taught that theMughal emperors, Tipu Sultan, etc., used to givegrants to Hindu temples and celebrate Hindufestivals.

All communal riots began after 1857; there wasnone before that year. Agent provoca-teurs deliberately instigated religious hatred in avariety of ways e.g., by playing music before amosque at prayer time, or breaking Hindu idols.

This poison was systematically injected by theBritish rulers into our body politic year after year,decade after decade, until it resulted in the Partitionof 1947. We still have nefarious elements thatpromote and thrive on religious hatred.

Whenever a bomb blast takes place, manytelevision news channels start saying that an email

[4]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

or SMS has been received claiming that the IndianMujahideen, the Jaish-e-Muhammad, or the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al- Islamia has owned responsibility. Nowan email or an SMS message can be sent by anymischievous person, but by showing this on TVand the next day in print a subtle impression iscreated in Hindu minds that all Muslims areterrorists who throw bombs (when the truth is that99 per cent of all communities are peace lovingand good).

During the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomiagitation, a section of the media (particularly theHindi print media) became kar sevaks.

Panic in Bangalore

Recently, SMS messages were sent to northeastIndians living in Bangalore and other cities statingthat they had killed Muslims in Assam and so theyhad better get out of Bangalore otherwise theywould be massacred. This created panic. When theMuslims of Bangalore came to know of this mischief,they organised a feast for the northeast Indiansand told them that someone had played mischief,and that Muslims are not against the people fromthe northeast.

It is time Indians saw through this nefariousgame of certain vested interests. India is a countryof great diversity, and so the only path to unityand prosperity is equal respect for all communitiesand sections of society. When India becameindependent in 1947, religious passions wereinflamed. There must have been tremendouspressure on Pandit Nehru and his colleagues todeclare India a Hindu state, since Pakistan haddeclared itself an Islamic state. It was the greatnessof our leaders that they kept a cool head and saidIndia would not be a Hindu state but would be asecular state. That is why, relatively speaking, Indiais much better off in every way as compared to ourneighbour.

Secularism does not mean that one cannotpractise one’s religion. Secularism means thatreligion is a private affair unconnected with thestate, which will have no religion. In my opinion,secularism is the only policy which can hold ourcountry together and take it to the path ofprosperity.

The Indian state and the ruling elite committedto the capitalist modernization have failed inpropagating the ideology of secularism and inshaking off the shackles of religion, caste andcommunity loyalties which are binding on all

classes in India. The modern India state has tograpple with the challenges posed by communalforces. Therefore, we must oppose communalismnot only in minority but also in the majority if wedo not want to weaken the growth of realdemocratic and secular spirit.

REGIONALISM AND ITS IMPACT

The term ‘regionalism’ has two connotations.In the negative sense, it implies excessive attachmentto one’s region in preference to the country or thestate. In the positive sense it is a political attributeassociated with people’s love for their region,culture, language, etc. with a view to maintain theirindependent identity. A positive regionalism is awelcome thing in so far maintaining as it encouragesthe people to develop a sense of brotherhood andcommonness on the basis of common language,religion or historical background. The negative senseregionalism is a great threat to the unity andintegrity of the country. In the Indian contextgenerally the term regionalism has been used inthe negative sense. The feeling of regionalism mayarise either due to the continuous neglect of aparticular area or region by the ruling authoritiesor it may spring up as a result of increasing politicalawareness of backward people that have beendiscriminated against. Quite often some politicalleaders encourage the feeling of regionalism tomaintain their hold over a particular area or groupof people.

Historical perspective:

On 15th of December 1953, when PottiSriramulu succumbed to death not able to sustain52 days of marathon fast that was undertaken todemand a separate state for Telugu speaking people,little did he realize that his death would become alaunch pad for the dawn of Political Regionalismin India – that would in course of time alter thelandscape of India.

But the brand of regionalism that evolvedafter Potti Sriramulu’s death was legitimate, genuineand logical. It reflected the aspirations of people atthat time. It stood for fulfilling the longstandingwant of people to have their own linguistic state.Thus, Andhra Pradesh became the first linguisticstate of India. Today, Nellore district of AndhraPradesh is renamed as Potti Sriramulu.

After the death of Sriramulu, reluc-tant Nehruji was forced to agree to various criesfrom other parts of the country with similar

[5]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

demands. In 1954, a States ReorganizationCommittee was formed with Fazal Ali as its head,which recommended the formation of 16 new statesand 3 Union Territories based on the languagepeople spoke in those respective regions. Thisheralded a new phase in the Indian politics.

The later movements for separate states andterritories gave birth to a slew of regional partieswhich eventually became prominent at the nationallevel becoming crucial in the formation ofgovernments – heralding a ‘coalition culture’ inIndian politics.

Regionalism: Meaning

Regionalism is a feeling or an ideology amonga section of people residing in a particulargeographical space characterized by uniquelanguage, culture etc., that they are the sons of thesoil and every opportunity in their land must begiven to them first but not to the outsiders. It is asort of Parochialism. In most of the cases it is raisedfor expedient political gains but not necessarily.

Growth and Development

Regionalism in India can be traced backto Dravida Movement started in Tamil Nadu. Themovement initially focused on empowering Dalits,non-Brahmins, and poor people. Later it turnedagainst imposition of Hindi as sole official languageon non-Hindi speaking areas. Finally, themovement for some time focused on seceding fromIndia to carve out their own Dravidastan or DravidaNadu. The movement slowly declined and todaythey have become prominent regional parties aftermany splits and factionalism.

Throughout India regionalism persisted.In Maharashtra Shiv Sena against Kannadigas inthe name of Marathi pride and recently MNSactivists against Biharis; in Punjab against non-Punjabis that gave rise to Khalistan Movement andearlier Akali Movement; in Andhra, TelanganaMovement with an aim of separate state; in AssamULFA militants against migrant Biharis andBengalis; in North-East against other Indians.

It can be traced that regionalism slowly turnedfrom non violent means to violent means to achievetheir goals. From Potti Sriramulu’s non violentmeans of fasting to Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena(MNS) and ULFA’s violent means, regionalism hascome a long way.

Regionalism in contemporary India is readily

used for political gains by petty politicians andsecessionist organizations. Economic reasons areexploited for political dividends.

When violence is used against people in thename of regionalism it is a criminal act and ispunishable. Article 19 of the Constitution ofIndia provides a citizen of India to move freelythroughout the territory of India, to live and settlein any part, and to practice any profession, or tocarry on any occupation, trade or business. WhenULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) militantsor MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) activistsused violence against poor migrant workers, theyclearly violated the law of the land and also theConstitution which is above all, even above theParliament.

Do we need to fear Regionalism?

No. Regionalism in India is only a short cut tomeet the political ambitions by emotionallyexploiting the sentiments of the people. The fearof Balkanization is void of any logic. India is boundby a common culture that has flourished on thisland many thousand years ago. I may be Kannadigaor Tamil but I am an Indian first. My identityoutside India is that of an Indian. The states whichfought for complete independence are now part ofIndian Union and they have renounced violence tosome extent ; they include Mizoram, Nagaland,Kashmir, Bodoland, Tamli Nadu..

Today regional parties define how thegovernments are formed and conducted both atthe Centre and the state level. Indeed it is a gooddevelopment as some political entities such as RJD,BSP, LJP, DMK, AIADMK, BJD have to some extentrepresented those people who were neglected inthe political process for a long time. As long asthey thrive for regional development withoutdiscriminating against outsiders, regionalism is goodfor India.

Every Indian is son of this soil. A Bihari becomesMumbaikar when a bomb explodes in Mumbai anda Mumbaikar becomes Bihari when Kosi wreckshavoc in the plains of Bihar. We are united by anidea called India and that unity is imperative if wewant to realize the dream of becoming asuperpower.

Different Forms of Regionalism

Regionalism in India has assumed various formslike:

[6]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

(a) Demand for State Autonomy: Regionalism hasoften led to the demand by states for greaterautonomy from the centre. Increasinginterference by the Centre in the affairs of thestates has led to regional feelings. Demand forautonomy has also been raised by regionswithin some states of the Indian federation.

(b) Secession from the Union: This is a dangerousform of regionalism. It emerges when statesdemand separation from the Centre and try toestablish an independent identity of their own.Disputes between states over the sharing of riverwater, primacy given by the states to thelanguage of majority and to people of their ownstates in job opportunities have also given riseto feelings of regionalism. Migration of peoplefrom backward state to a developed state foremployment opportunities have often resultedin a hostile attitude against the migrants forexample, problems going on in Karnataka andA.P .

Development of Regionalism in India:

Regionalism is not a new phenomenon in theIndian political system. In the pre-independencedays it was promoted by the British imperialistsand they deliberately encouraged the people ofvarious regions to think in terms of their regionrather than the nation as a whole, with a view tomaintain their hold over India during the nationalmovement. After Independence the leaders triedto foster a feeling among the people that theybelonged to one single nation. The framers of theConstitution sought to achieve this by introducingsingle citizenship for all. With the same objectivea unified judiciary , all Indian services, and a strongCentral government was provided. But in view ofthe vastness of the country and cultures regionalismsoon made its appearance in India.

The first manifestation of regionalism was thedemand for reorganisation of states on linguisticbasis, but the most effective play of regionalismwas the victory of the DMK against Congress inTamil Nadu in 1960s. Initially the central leadershipfelt that regionalism was a peripheral political factorconfined to Tamil Nadu and hence did not poseany threat to national unity. However, thatassessment was ill-founded. Soon in Punjab theAkali movement gained momentum, while inJammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah revived theNational Conference. During these initial years allthe Indian political parties continued to adjust with

these regional forces on the plea that they wouldultimately succeed in making inroads into the basesof the regional parties and absorb them in theirorganisations.

The Indian National Congress which enjoyedmonopoly of power between 1947–1967 andfollowed a policy of blowing hot and cold towardsthe regional forces, also contributed to the growthof regionalism in India. It accommodated theregional forces when it was convenient and raiseda hue and cry against them when it was pittedagainst them. The local Congress leaders alsoencouraged the growth of regionalism andstrengthened their hold on local party organisation,with a view to increase their bargaining powerwith the central leaders. In fact a close linkdeveloped between central and regional leadership.This close link between the central and regionalleadership greatly encouraged the growth ofregionalism.

Causes for Growth of Regionalism:-

In India a number of factors have constitutedto the growth of regionalism.

1. Regionalism made its appearance as a reactionagainst the efforts of the national governmentto impose a particular ideology, language orcultural pattern on all people and groups. Thusthe States of South have resisted imposition ofHindi as official language because they fearedthis would lead to dominance of the North.Similarly, in Assam anti-foreigner movementwas launched by the Assamese to preserve theirown culture.

2. Continuous neglect of an area or region by theruling parties and concentration ofadministrative and political power has givenrise to demand for decentralization of authorityand bifurcate of unilingual states. On occasionssons of soil theory has been put forth to promotethe interests of neglected groups or areas of thestate.

3. The desire of the various units of the Indianfederal system to maintain their sub culturalregions and greater degree of self-governmenthas promoted regionalism and given rise todemand for greater autonomy. The desire ofregional elites to capture power has also led torise of regionalism. It is well known thatpolitical parties like DMK, AIADMK, AkaliDal, Telugu Desam Asom Gana Parishad etc.,have encouraged regionalism to capture power.

[7]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

4. The interaction between the forces ofmodernisation and mass participation have alsolargely contributed to the growth of regionalismin India. As the country is still away fromrealising the goal of a nation state, the variousgroups have failed to identify their groupinterests with national interests, hence thefeeling of regionalism has persisted.

5. The growing awareness among the people ofbackward areas that they are beingdiscriminated against has also promoted afeeling of regionalism. The local political leadershave fully exploited this factor and tried to feedthe people with the idea that the CentralGovernment was deliberately trying to maintainregional imbalances by neglecting social andeconomic development of certain areas

Role of The Regional Parties:-

Though the regional parties operate within verylimited areas and pursue only limited objective, theyhave played significant role both in the State aswell as national politics. The regional politicalparties formed governments in several states andtried to give concrete shape to their policies andprogrammes. Some of the important regional partieswhich formed governments in various statesinclude DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu;National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir,Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, Asom GanaParishad in Assam; Maharasthrawadi GomantakParty in Goa; Mizo National Front in Mizoram;Sikkim Sangram Parishad in Sikkam; All Party HillLeaders Conference in Meghalaya and IndianNational Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana. Some of theregional parties were also partners in the coalitiongovernments formed in several States after thefourth general elections of 1967. At the Centre also,of late the Regional Parties have been able to playcritical role in helping formation of Congressgovernment. DMK, a regional party, supported Mrs.Indira Gandhi’s government after split in the partyin 1969 and enabled her to carry on governmentdespite loss of majority in the Parliament. TeluguDesam was the pillar of strengh for the UnitedFront and later the National Democratic Alliance.The representatives of the regional parties focusthe attention of the Parliament on issues in theirregion and try to influence the policies of theGovernment to promote their own interests. Butprobably the greatest service rendered by theregional political parties is that they have focusedthe attention of the people in remote areas on

various political and economic issues andcontributed to their political awakening. Above all,the regional parties have been able to impress onthe national political parties that they cannot putup with their attitude of indifference towardsregional problems and have compelled them to takekeen interest in the resolution of their problems. Inshort it can be said that the regional political partieshave not only profoundly influenced the regionalpolitics but also left tremendous impact on thenational politics.

Measures for Correcting Regional Imbalances:

Regionalism has been an important aspect ofIndian politics. Sometimes, it has posed threat tothe unity of the country. Hence it is necessary totake steps to reduce such tendencies. Some suchmeasures can be:

� To promote even development of the hithertoneglected areas so that they feel a part of thenational mainstream.

� The central government must not interfere inthe affairs of the State unless it is unavoidablefor national interest.

� Problems of people must be solved in a peacefuland constitutional manner. Politicians must notbe allowed to misuse the issue of regionaldemands.

� Except for issues of national importance, thestates should be given freedom to run their ownaffairs.

� Changes are necessary in the Central-Staterelations in favour of the states, and forintroducing a system of national education thatwould help people to overcome regional feelingsand develop an attachment towards the nation.

Conclusion

The resurgence of regionalism in various partsof the country has emerged as such a seriousproblem that it literally threatens to divide thecountry. The creation of new states like Jharkhand,Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand) and Chhattisgarh inrecent times is in fact the expression of territorialregionalism. Again, the demand for Bodoland,Vidarbha, Telangana, Gorkhaland,etc. cannot betraced in the earnest desire of the people to havetheir regional identity, which results from regionalimbalances. In fact, it is the natural desire of thepeople in a region or territory to make rapid socialand economic development so that they may live

[8]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

happily. But in course of time when some part ofthe region makes rapid development, and otherremains neglected, then the feelings of anger andfrustration creep into the mind of the people whichfind expression in demand for a separate homeland.Thus, this development imbalance in which somepart of the state receives special attention and otherareas are neglected and allowed to rot causingimmense suffering and hardship to the commonman appeared in the form of Gorkha movement,Bodo movement, Telangana movement, etc. Thereis certainly no denying that social Utopias of leaderslike Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were mainlyresponsible for the lopsided development of thecountry and the creation of the society in which afew rolled in wealth, the majority of thepeople yearned for food. This marks the inefficiencyand incapability on the part of the authorityconcerned-the Parliament, the Executive- to respondto the people’s expectations and efficiently handlingthe growing unrest and deepening conflict.

Besides, the local leadership is to be held equallyresponsible, which fails to reconcile with theaspirations of the people. The mixed economyof India, consisting of large state sector andcorporate sector, miserably failed to generate jobopportunities for majority of people who are forcedto live a life of poverty, illiteracy and starvation.Large portions of the population are under housedand live a life without benefits of rudimentaryhealth care. In this situation in which the teemingmillions languish under the crushing burden ofpoverty, only about twenty per cent of thepopulations enjoy the benefits of development. Thisever- widening gap between the two groups of Indiaconstitutes the root cause of inter-ethnic, inter-communal and inter-regional conflicts-variousmanifestation of regionalism. Regional parties playa prominent role in the spread of regionalism andin creating regional consciousness. Since theseparties have their political existence in regionalsupport, they arouse it to gain its benefits to servetheir end. It is a well-known strategy of the regionalleadership to launch their agenda against theCentre, i.e. the opposition party for discriminatingagainst the state with political motives.

Besides, the regional press, which is primarilylanguage-oriented, immensely contributes in theemergence of regionalism. It is a powerful vehiclefor the expression of regionalism and regionalsentiments. The views expressed in them are, oftenquite contrary to those in the English media, i.e.national media. In an age of coalition governments,

where regional forces in the country arestrengthening, vernacular press has become morevocal and articulated. Naturally, it has streng-thening effect on regional sentiments.

Thus, the need of the hour is to develop arealistic perception of regionalism at the conceptuallevel focusing on righteousness and judiciousoutlook on the part of the political parties. If thisobjective is achieved, then the realisation of theidea of different communities, speaking diverselanguages and each linked with particular culturalexpression, “thinking globally, acting globally andseeing human unity in diversity in practical terms”too would become a distinct possibility.

SECULARISM AND ITS IMPACT

“India will be a land of many faiths, equallyhonoured and respected, but of one national out-look.“

-Jawaharlal Nehru, 24 January 1948

Secularism in India means equal treatment ofall religions by the state. Unlike the Western conceptof secularism which envisions a separation ofreligion and state, the concept of secularism in Indiaenvisions acceptance of religious laws as bindingon the state, and equal participation of state indifferent religions. Mahatma Gandhi has on hisown part benefited the evolvement of theconcept of secularism by clarifying therelationship between state and religion. Gandhiactually rejected the ideology of secularismwithout any qualifications, but interestingly andconsistently advocated for a secular statecompletely detached from the religious concernsof the people. At the same time, MahatmaGandhi emphasized the inseparability of religionand politics and the superiority of the former overthe latter.

He has written that ‘those who say that religionhas nothing to do with politics do not know whatreligion means. ‘For Gandhi, religion was the sourceof absolute value and hence constitutive of sociallife and that is why politics were the arena of publicinterest. The inseparability of religion and politicsin the Indian context was for Gandhi afundamentally distinct issue from the separationof the state from the church in Christendom.When he did advocate that religion and stateshould be separate, he clarified that this was tolimit the role of the state to secular welfare and toallow it no admittance into the religious life of

[9]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

the people. Gandhi died because he had strivenunceasingly to promote Hindu-Muslim unity.There were competing nationalists discourses inIndia in the beginning of the twentieth centurybut Gandhi had tried to combine these underthe aim of “swaraj” (self-rule).

Jawaharlal Nehru was the main architect inthe relation between the state and religion in India.While Gandhi put his faith in the reformed,ethnically refined individual, in creating a betterif not the ideal society, Nehru considered theshaping of suitable institutions as the best meansof achieving the same goal. Of all the moderninstitutions, it was the state which he believedwould be the principal engine of social change.The ideal state according to Nehru was firstand foremost democratic, but also socialistbecause of its bad economic situation and secularistbecause of the cultural and religious diversity. Anexample from Nehru’s writings and speeches bringsout very clearly his conviction that religion is ahindrance to the change and progress which areinherent in human society and that the belief insupernatural agency which ordains everything hasled to certain irresponsibility, and emotion andsentimentality have taken the place of reasonedthought. He was influenced by the experienceof European nations and Marxist thinking andbelieved that industrialization would erode theinfluence of religion. Therefore, he did not worrytoo much about religion or its political expression,namely communalism, because he passionatelybelieved that these phenomena would vanish atthe touch of reality. In a letter from 1931 he insistedthat, ‘the real thing to my mind is the economicfactor. If we lay stress on this and divert publicattention to it we shall find automatically thatreligious differences recede into the background anda common bond unites different groups. Theeconomic bond is stronger than the national one.

Indian National Congress developed a strategyof containment by which he meant that thereshould be a distance between the state and thereligious passions of society. But to make adifference to the Western secularism this wasinterpreted so that all religions are entitled toflourish in India equally. The state of India has thedemands and will lean on its mantra that Indiawill stay united: ‘unity in diversity’. In spiteof this equality, secularism has faced oppositionfrom both outside and inside of India’s territory.The threat from outside has come from the IslamicRepublic of Pakistan, and the threat from inside

from the different religiously motivated ethnicgroups, such as Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims, andfrom some of India’s territories, such as my example,Kashmir. These groups and areas threatensecularism and federalism by their secessionist orseparatist aspirations. The aspirations are partlyreligious, partly disguised in a religious form, butthey also affect the political, economic, social andcultural situation in the areas. Communalism is thepolitical dimension of nationalism. Communalismis not based on the feeling of a distinct nation butof a smaller unity, community. In this thesiscommunalism refers to the desire to protect thisdistinct community from others. Religion often liesbehind communalist action and in the case of Indiathe communalists use religious feelings of the peopleas the means of mobilisation. A common characterthat all the communalisms, share is the fear of thethreatening ‘Other’. For Hindus it is the Muslims,for Sikhs the Hindus and for Kashmiris the Sikhsand the Hindus. All of them see Indian secularismas a threatening force that needs to be foughtagainst.

The contest of Indian secularism means thatHindu, Sikh and Kashmiri nationalisms try to brakethe secular central power of India by separatingfrom the Indian Union. The separation has political,economic and social but also religious dimensions.This, then, has led to the crisis of Indian secularism.Indian central powers have not been able to solvethe conflicts by negotiation but have needed to relyon violence and armed forces. They have alsosuccumbed to use religion for their politicalpurposes.

The main religions that are discussed inthe thesis are Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam.Shortly, Hinduism is a religion which actuallyconsist of many different religions. It bases onseveral different deities and on the idea of rebirth.A Hindu tries through good deeds in the presentlife to get a better life in the next one. Sikhism, onthe other hand, has only one God, but gurus areworshipped as well. However, Sikhism derives fromHinduism and therefore the Sikh and Hinduidentities can sometimes be overlapping. Islam is areligion, which is based on the concept of one Godand the law system of Sharia.

With the 42nd Amendment of the Constitutionof India enacted in 1976, the Preamble to theConstitution asserted that India is a secular nation.However, neither India's Constitution nor its lawsdefine the relationship between religion and state.

[10]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

The laws implicitly require the state and itsinstitutions to recognize and accept all religions,enforce religious laws instead of parliamentarylaws, and respect pluralism. India does not havean official state religion. The people of India havefreedom of religion, and the state treats allindividuals as equal citizens regardless of theirreligion. In matters of law in modern India,however, the applicable code of law is unequal,and India's personal laws - on matters such asmarriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony - varies withan individual's religion. Muslim Indianshave Sharia-based Muslim Personal Law, whileHindus, Christians, Sikhs and other non-MuslimIndians live under common law. The attempt torespect unequal, religious law has created a numberof issues in India such as acceptability of childmarriage, polygamy, unequal inheritance rights,extrajudicial unilateral divorce rights favourable tosome males, and conflicting interpretations ofreligious books.

Secularism as practiced in India, with its markeddifferences with Western practice of secularism, isa controversial topic in India. Supporters of theIndian concept of secularism claim it respectsMuslim men’s religious rights and recognizes thatthey are culturally different from Indians of otherreligions. Supporters of this form of secularism claimthat any attempt to introduce a uniform civil code,that is equal laws for every citizen irrespective ofhis or her religion, would impose majoritarianHindu sensibilities and ideals, something that isunacceptable to Muslim Indians. Opponents arguethat India's acceptance of Sharia and religious lawsviolates the principle of equal human rights,discriminates against Muslim women, allowsunelected religious personalities to interpret religiouslaws, and creates plurality of unequal citizenship;they suggest India should move towards separatingreligion and state. Secularism is a divisive, politicallycharged topic in India.

The 7th schedule of Indian Constitution placesreligious institutions, charities and trusts into so-called Concurrent List, which means that both thecentral government of India, and various stategovernments in India can make their own lawsabout religious institutions, charities and trusts. Ifthere is a conflict between central governmentenacted law and state government law, then thecentral government law prevails. This principle ofoverlap, rather than separation of religion and statein India was further recognized in a series ofconstitutional amendments starting with Article 290

in 1956, to the addition of word ‘secular’ to thePreamble of Indian Constitution in 1975.

The overlap of religion and state, throughConcurrent List structure, has given variousreligions in India, state support to religious schoolsand personal laws. This state intervention whileresonant with the dictates of each religion, areunequal and conflicting. For example, a 1951Religious and Charitable Endowment Indian lawallows state governments to forcibly take over, ownand operate Hindu temples, and collect revenuefrom offerings and redistribute that revenue to anynon-temple purposes, including maintenance ofreligious institutions opposed to the temple; Indianlaw also allows Islamic religious schools to receivepartial financial support from state and centralgovernment of India, to offer religiousindoctrination, if the school agrees that the studenthas an option to opt out from religiousindoctrination if he or she so asks, and that theschool will not discriminate any student based onreligion, race or other grounds. Educationalinstitutions wholly owned and operated bygovernment may not impart religiousindoctrination, but religious sects and endowmentsmay open their own school, impart religiousindoctrination and have a right to partial statefinancial assistance.

India is a country where religion is very centralto the life of people. India’s age-old philosophy asexpounded in Hindu Upanishad scriptures is sarvadharma samabhava, which means equal respectfor all religions. The reason behind this approachis the fact that India has never been a mono-religious country. Even before the Aryan invasionIndia was not a mono-religious country.

Secularism in India was more a political thanphilosophical phenomenon. The Indian NationalCongress adopted secularism, not as this worldlyphilosophy but more as a political arrangementbetween different religious communities. As apower-sharing arrangement could not besatisfactorily worked out between the Hindu andMuslim elites, the country was divided into twoindependent states of India and Pakistan, most ofthe Muslim majority areas of the North-West goingto Pakistan.After independence and partition alarge body of Muslims were left in India and henceleaders like Gandhi and Nehru preferred to keepIndia secular in the sense that the Indian statewould have no religion though the people of Indiawould be free both in the individual and corporate

[11]

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

R

CH

RO

NIC

LE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

ON

ICLE

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S

IA

S AAAAACADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

CADEM

Y

sense to follow any religion of their birth oradoption. Thus India remained politically secularbut otherwise its people continued to be deeplyreligious.In India right from the British period, themain contradiction was not between the religiousand the secular but between secular and communal.In the western world the main struggle wasbetween the Church and the State and the Churchand Civil Society, but in India neither Hinduismnor Islam had any church-like structure and hencethere never was any such struggle between secularand religious power structures.

In a multi-religious society, if politics is not basedon issues but on identities, it can prove highlydivisive. Politicians are tempted to appeal toprimordial identities rather than to solve problems.The former case proves much easier. The medievalsociety in India was thus more religiously tolerantas it was non-competitive. The modern Indiansociety, on the other hand, has proved to be moredivisive as it is based on competition. Thiscompetition becomes more acute if development isuneven and unjust. Thus in the case of India onecan say by and large it is secular in as much as itis religiously plural and tolerant but there arepolitically divisive forces quite active and createcommunal pressure and widen the gap betweenreligious community thus bringing Indiansecularism under threat.

There are two main reasons for the contest ofIndian secularism. They are interwoven and to someextent also parallel. However, historically, thecontest of Indian secularism has first happenedthrough the different Indian nationalism whichrefused to merge into the idea of an Indian nation-state. The ruling power considered that the integrityof India was threatened by the secessionistmovements, and to maintain the idea of integrity,some of the leading politicians of the Congressparty have relentlessly pursued the project ofhomogenising diversities. But everything turned outthe other way around: because of the attemptedhomogenisation, a growing number of separatistsand secessionist movements have gained politicalpower in the country. Therefore, homogenisationhas partly led India into political decay and causedthe decline of secularism, especially because of theuse of oppressing politics, which then hasconsequently induced the rise of secessionistmovements. This has then been strengthened bythe other nationalisms that have benefited the riseof each other. Kashmiri nationalism has givenimpetus to Hindu nationalism and vice versa, but

Sikh nationalism has also grown because of therising Hindu nationalism.

Secondly, the contest and the decay ofsecularism has been the result of the politics of theoriginally secular Congress Party, which hassurrendered its secular role several times by usingcommunalist tensions to further their political aims.It has also surrendered its democratic role byconsciously attempting to weaken and even todestroy institutions, in the often a mistaken beliefthat this will strengthen their hands. Thiscentralisation and alienation policy led then to theweakening of the Congress Party’s effectiveness incontrolling communalism. It lost its legitimacy asthe state power and it has drifted into a crisis ofhegemony because of the politics of centralisation.The Congress Party resorted to populism in the1980s as the result of the growing communalistmovements. This made it possible for thecommunalist parties to start a wide-basedmobilisation. The Congress used the national unityand secularism as manipulative symbols forelectoral mobilisation. Thus, it has been easy forHindus to rely on Hindu religious symbols in theirmobilisation. However, this does not mean that itwas the fault of the Congress that Hindus havelearned on their own to use cultural and religiousbackground to advance their political aims. Becauseof the contest done by the nationalist movementsand the unsuccessful politics of the Congress Partyto contain these movements and to preserve thesecular character of its politics the Indian politicalsystem has failed to hold on to the principles ofsecularism and democracy, which has thenconsequently deepened the crisis of secularism. Thecrisis has also brought up old cleavages anddisputes and therefore it has grown even deeper.The crisis of Indian secularism is like a vicious circle.

In sum, what was pursued by the foundingfathers of Indian secularism was a separation oftwo realms in the public: one was the politicalrealm, wherein the interest of national unity, non-preference, and the rationalities and imperativesof the state compelled political actors to speak andact in certain ways, while at the same time praisingthe cultural diversity of India; the other was thecultural realm, wherein any community couldcelebrate itself and its own myths and excludeothers. This cultural diversity was the foundationof the larger nation. However, the political realmwas not supposed to be “contaminated” byunilateral celebration of one community or the openrepresentation of particularist interests of acommunity.

���