Question

Commulasim harmful national progress how

Answer 1

The most common expression of

commUnalism  is  in  everUday  beliefs.

These  routinely  involve  religious

prejudices,  stereotypes  of  religious

communities and belief in the superiority

of  one’s religion over other religions. This

is so common that we often fail to notice

it, even when we believe in it.

✌

A communal mind often leads to a

quest for political dominance of  one’s

own  religious  community.  For  those

belonging to majority community, this

takes  the  form  of   majoritarian

dominance. For those belonging to the

minority  community,  it  can  take  the

form  of   a  desire  to  form  a  separate

political unit.

✌

Political  mobilisation  on  religious

lines  is  another  frequent  form of

communalism. This involves the use of

sacred  symbols,  religious  leaders,

emotional appeal and plain fear in order

to bring the followers of one religion

together in the political arena. In electoral

politics this often involves special appeal

to the interests or emotions of voters

of  one religion in preference to others.

✠

Sometimes communalism takes its

most ugly form of communal violence,

riots and massacre. India and Pakistan

suffered some of the worst communal

riots at the time of the Partition....