The essentials
Communalism in the Indian sense refers to aggressive chauvinism based on religious identity. It is a political ideology that treats one religious group as the only legitimate group and sees others as enemies. A communalist is not simply a religious person: a deeply devout person may be tolerant, while a communalist may not be religious at all and uses religion for political mobilisation. Communal riots have occurred repeatedly, and every major community has at some point suffered violence.
Regionalism arises from loyalty to a region, usually based on language, culture, geography or a sense of economic neglect. Indian federalism accommodated linguistic identity through the reorganisation of states on a linguistic basis, following the States Reorganisation Commission whose report led to the major reorganisation of 1956. Later demands produced new states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. Regional demands are not necessarily anti-national; recognising them often strengthened the union.
Casteism is the use of caste loyalties for political or economic advantage, for example voting or appointing people mainly on caste grounds. Caste has been both a basis of discrimination and a basis of mobilisation for the disadvantaged.
Patriarchy is a system in which men hold power over women in the family and society. It cuts across all the above identities and affects women within every community.
Key points
- Communalism uses religion as a political identity against other groups.
- Linguistic states helped hold India together by giving recognition to major languages.
- Regional inequality can fuel regional movements.
- Casteism and communalism can weaken democratic choice by replacing issues with identity.
Exam tips
Remember the distinction between religiosity (personal faith) and communalism (political chauvinism).
Common mistakes
Do not say that linguistic reorganisation divided India; most scholars see it as having strengthened national unity.