Communalism

noun (uncountable)

/ˈkɒmjʊnəlɪzəm/

In the South Asian context, the ideology and practice of defining political and social interests primarily along religious community lines, often leading to inter-religious hostility and violence. Unlike its Western usage (meaning cooperative communal living), Indian communalism denotes the belief that co-religionists constitute a political community with interests necessarily opposed to those of other religious communities. The Partition of 1947 is regarded as the most catastrophic political outcome of communalism in modern Indian history.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Historians of the nationalist movement have debated whether the colonial census's enumeration of population by religion institutionalized communalism by transforming fluid religious identities into rigid political categories.

Synonyms

religious sectarianismconfessionalismreligious chauvinismsectarianismreligious nationalism

Antonyms

secularismpluralismcomposite nationalismsyncretisminter-faith harmony

🌱 Word Family

communal (adjective), communalist (noun/adjective), communalize (verb), communally (adverb), communalization (noun)

🔡 Root

French communal = of the commune/community, from Latin communis = common, shared + -ism = doctrine; meaning shifted in colonial India to religious-community politics

📜 Etymology

From French communal, derived from Latin communis (common, belonging to all). In European usage, the term described local community governance. In colonial India, British administrators and Indian nationalists repurposed 'communalism' from the late 19th century onwards to describe the politics of religious identity, particularly Hindu–Muslim antagonism fostered under the divide-and-rule policy, giving the term its distinctively South Asian pejorative meaning.

🧠 Memory Hook

In India, COMMUNAL has a very specific warning sign — think of 'COMMUNITY + WALLS'. Communalism is when religious communities build political walls between themselves. The word sounds cooperative (commune) but in Indian history it means the opposite: communities at war.

👥 Society 📖 Seen in: Salient Features of Indian Society — D... 📋 Also in Key Terms

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