Question

Mention two political expression of communalism

Answer 1

Explanation:Communalism can take various forms in politics:

i. The routinely beliefs involve religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities

and belief in the superiority of one’s religion over other religions.

ii. A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one’s own religious

community.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

v. Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and

massacre.

(Any three to be explained)

The makers of our Constitution were aware of this challenge. That is why they chose

the model of a secular state. This choice was reflected in several constitutional

provisions like-

i. There is no official religion for the Indian state.

ii. The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice

and propagate any religion, or not to follow any.

iii. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

iv. At the same time, the Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion

in order to ensure equality within religious communities.