B.A. FIRST YEAR NATIONALISM IN INDIA UNIT 5 CHAPTER - 8 GROWTH OF COMMUNALISM NOTES

What Is Communalism ?

Communalism Is An Ideology That Favours A Particular Religion And Community Rather Than The Whole Society Which Often Becomes Violent.

Professor Bipin Chandra Has Preferred The Phenomena Of Communalism Into Three Stages

First It Is The Belief That People Who Follow The Same Religion Have Common Secular Interests That Is Common Political Economic Social And Cultural Interests From This Arise The Notion Of Socio-political Communities Based On Religion.

Second Elements Of Communal Ideology Rest Of The Nation That In A Multi Religious Society Like India Secular Interests That Is The Social Cultural Economic And Political Interests Of The Followers Of One Religion Are Dissimilar And Divergent From The Interest Of The Followers Of Another Religion.

Third Stage Of Communalism Is Reached When The Interest Of The Followers Of Different Religion Or Different Communities Are Seen To Be Mutually Incompatible, Antagonistic And Hostile And The Communalist Asserts At This Stage That The Hindu And Muslim Cannot Have Common Secular Interests That Their Secular Interest Are Bound To Be Opposed To Each Other.

In India It Has Been Noted Communal Politics Really Was Born In The British Period.

The Partition Of Bengal Is The First Step Of Britishers Make Divide And Rule Policy In India And Spread Communalism.The British Colonial Rule Changed The Economy Drastically To The Ruin Of Many People Like Creation Of Zamindari System, Imposed Highland Tax, Make Rules In The Favour Of Landlords, Contractors And Money Lenders.The New Job In Administration And The Government Were Also A Factor Particularly Since They Came To Be Available Only To The Better Educated. 

Another Strong Factor In The Growth Of Communalism Was The Alienation Which Muslims Felt At The Strong Hindu Tinge To The Nationalist Appeal. It Started With Extremist Leaders (Who Used Ganesh Pooja And Shivaji Festivals To Make Nationalist Sentiment Stronger) Another Problem Was The Obstinate Identification Of The Past With The Rulers Who Ruled.

The Hindu Communist Readily Adopted The Imperialist View That Mediaeval Rulers In India Were Anti Hindu And The Muslim Communist Said That All The Muslim Rule They Tended To Defend And Glorify All Muslim Rulers Including Religious Bigots Like Aurangzeb.

Professor Between Chandra Says After 1937 The 'Muslim League' The 'Hindu Mahasabha' And  The 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ (RSS) Increasingly Veered Towards Extreme Communalism.