Communalism, Secularism and the Nation-state

Communalism, Secularism and the Nation-state

Communalism is a term that carries a very specific meaning in the Indian (or South Asian) context — quite different from its ordinary English sense. In English, "communal" simply means relating to a community or a collective, as opposed to an individual. That meaning is neutral. But in South Asia, "communalism" is a strongly charged word. It refers to aggressive chauvinism based on religious identity.

Chauvinism itself is the attitude that one's own group is the only legitimate or worthy group, while all other groups are seen as inferior, illegitimate, and opposed. So communalism, at its core, is an aggressive political ideology linked to religion. The charge it carries can be seen as positive by those sympathetic to it, or negative by those opposed to it.

The key factor is the attitude towards those who believe in other kinds of identities — including other religion-based identities. Communalists cultivate an aggressive political identity and are prepared to condemn or attack anyone who does not share that identity.

One of the characteristic features of communalism is its claim that religious identity overrides everything else. Whether a person is poor or rich, whatever their occupation, caste, or political beliefs — it is religion alone that counts. All Hindus are seen as the same, all Muslims as the same, all Sikhs as the same, and so on. This has the effect of constructing large and diverse groups as singular and homogeneous.

Communalism is an especially important issue in India because it has been a recurrent source of tension and violence. India has had a history of communal riots from pre-Independence times, often as a result of the divide-and-rule policy adopted by the colonial rulers. But colonialism did not invent inter-community conflicts — there is also a long history of pre-colonial conflicts — and it certainly cannot be blamed for post-independence riots and killings. Instances of religious, cultural, regional, or ethnic conflict can be found in almost every phase of Indian history.

However, we should not forget that India also has a long tradition of religious pluralism, ranging from peaceful co-existence to actual inter-mixing or syncretism. This syncretic heritage is clearly evident in the devotional songs and poetry of the Bhakti and Sufi movements. The poems of Kabir, synthesising Hindu and Muslim devotion, are cherished symbols of this pluralism. In short, history provides us with both good and bad examples; what we wish to learn from it is up to us.

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Secularism is among the most complex terms in social and political theory. In the western context, the main sense of the term has to do with the separation of church and state. The separation of religious and political authority marked a major turning point in the social history of the west. This separation was related to the process of "secularisation" — the progressive retreat of religion from public life, as religion was converted from a mandatory obligation to a voluntary personal practice. Secularisation in turn was related to the arrival of modernity and the rise of science-based rationality as alternatives to religious ways of understanding the world.

The Indian meanings of secular and secularism include the western sense but also involve others. The most common use of "secular" in everyday Indian language is as the opposite of "communal". So a secular person or state is one that does not favour any particular religion over others. Secularism in this sense is the opposite of religious chauvinism, and it need not necessarily imply hostility to religion as such.

In terms of the state-religion relationship, this Indian sense of secularism implies equal respect for all religions, rather than separation or distancing. For example, the secular Indian state declares public holidays to mark the festivals of all religions. …