BharatNotes What is Communalism?
Communalism is an ideology asserting that adherents of the same religion share common secular interests — political, economic and social — that conflict with those of other religious communities. It is distinct from religion or faith itself: a deeply religious person need not be communal, while a communalist may instrumentalise religion purely for power, jobs or representation. As historian Bipan Chandra emphasised, communalism reorganises society along religious lines for non-religious purposes.
The hallmark of communalism is the construction of an "us versus them" worldview in which religious identity is made to override every other affiliation — class, region, language or shared citizenship.
Bipan Chandra's Three Stages
| Stage | Belief | Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Communal consciousness | Co-religionists share common secular interests | Identity formation |
| Liberal communalism | One community's interests differ from another's | Coexistence still accepted |
| Extreme communalism | Interests are contradictory and clashing | Hostility; may justify violence |
This framework explains how communalism can escalate from benign group identity to organised antagonism. Four descriptive forms are also commonly cited: assimilationist, welfarist, retreatist and retaliatory communalism.
Roots and Causes
Modern political communalism in the subcontinent is widely traced to colonial policy, particularly the conscious "divide and rule" approach that intensified after the Revolt of 1857. Separate electorates, competition for limited colonial-era jobs and patronage, and the use of religion in mass mobilisation entrenched communal categories. Post-independence drivers include political opportunism, economic insecurity, weak local administration, social media-driven misinformation, and historical grievances.
The Constitutional Response
India answered communalism with a secular constitutional design:
- Articles 25–28 guarantee freedom of religion — freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion (Art. 25), to manage religious affairs (Art. 26), freedom from taxes for promoting a religion (Art. 27), and limits on religious instruction in state-funded institutions (Art. 28).
- The word "secular" was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 (during the Emergency).
- In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), the Supreme Court held secularism to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution, defining it as equal treatment of all religions.
Current Status
On 25 November 2024, in Dr Balram Singh v. Union of India, a Supreme Court bench led by then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna dismissed petitions challenging the insertion of "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble, holding that Parliament's amending power under Article 368 extends to the Preamble and reaffirming "secular" as denoting equal respect for all religions. This keeps the secular character of the Constitution firmly settled as of the latest judicial pronouncement (Nov 2024).
UPSC Angle
For Mains, link the conceptual framework (Chandra's stages; communalism versus secularism) to the constitutional architecture and to remedies — education, inclusive growth, effective policing, inter-faith dialogue and firm rule of law. Foundation concept — underpins recurring questions on the secularism–communalism–national integration topic family.
