Abstract –

Communalism is very dangerous for the integrity and socio-economic development of the country. In this paper, an attempt has been mad to trace the origin of communalism, how it made a slow beginning during the rule of the British East India Company, and emerged as one of the most potent enemy of the India over a period of time. Communalism is not something which has emerged suddenly or develop by chance. It was rather deep-rooted and has re-emerged like never before post 2014. The study aims at analysis of communalism in general and some communal issues and riots in particular. A broad understanding of the role of political parties has been analysed, as these political leaders exploit communal emotions of the religious communities for their electoral gains. The role of the two major political parties i.e. Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party has been analysed and how the Congress party has been very lax, and has kept short term electoral gains over their principled politics. On the other hand, BJP openly used the communal card for political purpose and declared itself a Hindu Party and using Hindutva ideologies in elections. This paper also studies about the dramatic rise of religious organisation in India especially, the right-wing Hindu organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang dal. Moreover, and political parties like BJP and shiv sena are also the right –wing Hindu organisations. They all functions on the ideology of Hindutva and are anti-minority in their stance.  This paper also analysed the Indian media’s credibility in addressing the communal issues. News channels in India have become a platform to peddle hatred against Muslims. The Muslims are being openly targeted and ridiculed on live television debates and in reporting. The state actions against the accused of riots have been discussed and how the victims of riots still wait for justice. They just wish to find closure through the punishment of the perpetrators.

Keywords: Communalism, BJP, RSS, Media, Communal riots, political parties.

INTRODUCTION

            Communalism is very dangerous for the integrity and socio-economic development of the country which have diverse religions, communities and linguistic groups. Communal is derived from the word “commune” which means the feeling of oneness or consciousness or friendliness^[1]. But in India this word has been used in a worst derogatory sense. It is used to describe mistrust, hatred, rivalry, etc., among the people of different religions. Communalism is basically an ideology which appears to be simple and easily understand notion. But this is, perhaps, not so. Communalism is divided into three stages, one following the other. First, it is the belief that the people of same religion share the common interests. It is these religious based communities that are seen as the fundamental units of the country. It is believed that these religious based communities can protect their collective or non-individual interests. They unite as a communal leaders and then serve the wider category of the nation or country. But in reality they are only leaders of their own communities. Second, this ideology is based on the notion that in multi-religious country like India, the social, economic, cultural and political interests of the followers of one religion are not similar and differ from the interest of the followers of another. In the third stage of communalism it is believed that followers of different   religions are mutually incompatible, antagonistic and hostile. Their interests are bound to be opposed to each other.

            Communal ideology in a person starts with the first stage and these are the person who saw themselves as Nationalist Hindus, Nationalist Muslims, Nationalist Sikhs, etc., and not as simple nationalist. The second stage of communalism can be considered as a liberal or moderate communalism. They are the believer and the practitioner of communal politics and still holding on to some liberal, democratic and humanistic values. They believed that different religious communities can be brought into harmony and their communal interests can be accommodated and together developing the national interests and built India as a nation. Communalist like Lajpat rai, and N.C kelkar, the Hindu Mahasabha, The Muslim League, etc., all functioned within a liberal communal framework. The third stage of communalism is extreme communalism which is based on fear and hatred. They use language of violence and spread enmity against political opponents. Therefore, it is rightly said that a communalist cannot be a religious and a religious person cannot be a communalist. Every religion of the world preaches love, tolerance, mutual respect and welfare of humanity. There is no doubt that preaching one’s own religion can generate mistrust or hatred between communities. The burden of the argument in India is that, a religious community is an economic as well as political community at the same time. Communalism definitely dominates Indian political discourse. The word ‘Secularism’ has been used in our country in the context of a secular state. All citizens are equal in the eyes of law, whether they profess one religion or another or none at all. Every citizen is allowed to follow, practice or propagate any religion according to his own belief.  The main aim of the state is social justice and providing equal opportunity for growth irrespective of the religious identity of a person.  Secularism is a concept or belief which refuses to accept the division of humanity into religions and races based on caste. As Gandhi ji said, ‘’ the soul of religion is one but it is in a multitude of forms’’. Similarly, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan remarked: Secularism does not mean anything irreligious or atheism or even stress on material comforts. Rather it lays stress on the universality of spiritual values which may be attained by a variety of ways” According to Nehru ji” The real struggle in India is not between Hindu culture and Muslim culture but between these two and the conquering scientific culture of modern civilization. His conception of secularism was linked with the idea of the good society”.  The freedom movement in India was initially secular in character. But in the end, ‘Muslim nationalism and Hindu nationalism emerged and this retarded the growth of secular nationalism and ultimately caused the partition of the country in 1947.  It is important to note that the word ‘Secular’ was absent in the original constitution. The constitution 42^nd Amendment Act which was passed in the Parliament in November 1976 for the first time speaks of India as Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic’’. Secularism has been given great importance in Indian constitution. Preamble is not considered as its integral part but it is non-justiciable. The provisions related to secularism in Indian Constitution can be traced in Right to Equality. Article 14 to 18 of the constitution deal with the Right to Equality. Communalism and Secularism are tied to constitutionalism in India and thus we have laws to interpret the laws.

OBJECTIVES

• How communalism re-emerged in post-partitioned India?
• What role political parties, especially, the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party played?
• How religious organization or political parties are responsible to provoke communalism between various social and religious groups?
• How media deal with the communal issues and role of media especially television in spreading hatred and demonizing minorities post 2014?
• Are the state and law helpful to punish the accused or not?

HYPOTHESIS

            The political parties in India played a major role to provoke communalism, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party along with Sangh Parivar openly play the communal politics while the Congress Party uses its hidden agendas. Lately, Indian media is too responsible for the harboring of hatred between the religious communities. And very little has been done by the state to address the problem of communalism.

METHODOLOGY

            This study is based on secondary documentary, historical, analytical and descriptive methods. The data has been collected from secondary sources which are mainly books and articles. The additional sources are census reports and various government documents. The newspapers, magazines and internet services are also the part of my source material.

RESEARCH AIM

            The aim of the research to provide information in an explanatory manner and describe the both concepts communalism and secularism. This paper will explain the roots of communalism and the provisions related to secularism in Indian constitution. A fixed research design is used in a manner like subjects, scope of study, objectives were pre-determined. A lot of discussions and theories have been postulated regarding the effects of communalism in secular India and that’s why the research done is cross-sectional. The research question was mainly focused on understanding the current situation. Arguments from both sides have been categorically represented and analyses are done. This paper explains the causes and consequences of the problems and precise conclusions are sought for an issue, here, the growth of communalism in Secular India.

RE-EMERGENCE OF COMMUNALISM

            It can be said without contention that communalism is not something that has emerged suddenly or developed by chance^[2]. It was rather deep-rooted and has re-emerged like never before post 2014. During the first war of independence that’s the revolt of 1857, Hindus and Muslims fought together and were united to defeat their common enemy. Soon, the Britishers realized their survival rested on being able to keep the people divided and religion is one of the best factors to divide the people in India. The seeds of communalism were first sown by Britishers as part of the policy of “divide and rule” and it resulted into the partition of the country in 1947. In India the confrontation is between Hindus and Muslims as they are the two major religious groups and definitely the main vote-banks and that’s why the conflicts and riots in India emanate from Hindus – Muslims communalism. Communal riots prior to 1947 were mainly rooted in the policy of colonial rulers. But after the partition a section of Indian people from both Hindu and Muslim community are blamed for creating the rift between the two communities. There are several factors responsible for communalism post -independence. Unfortunately, the socio-economic condition of our country after independence favored communalism. It is the upper class who enjoyed the fruits of limited growth and hence enjoyed the political power. The community leaders have always encouraged the communal feelings to strengthen their political support. If we check out the bare facts of any communal riot in India, we would stand amazed to see how such trifling matter could cause so much Larson, loot and murders. It is so obvious that these trivial incidents cannot be the real cause of the riots. There needs to be a communal atmosphere and communal tension built up between the communities to cause the rifts. The communal atmosphere provides a ready tilled soil for communal minded people to sow seeds of communal hatred and nurture them until the bitter harvest of communal riots are reaped.^[3] Political parties, for their political considerations always take decisions which promote communal violence. And this has been one of the major factors responsible for the growth of communalism in India since 1960’s. Political leaders have often permitted the intrusion of religion into politics and have tended to vacillate and retreat in the face of the communal onslaught. They have compromised with and often accommodated the communal forces for their electoral gains. It is in the history how Political parties has associated and entered into alliances with communal parties. Congress was the first to do so by allying with the Muslim League in Kerala and Akali Dal in Punjab in the late 1960’s, justifying their action by declaring that this is not extreme communalism and this minority communalism is understandable and democratic, and hence not bad and dangerous for the country. In 1967, the Socialists and other secular parties and groups did not hesitate to join the communal Jan Sangh first in seat adjustment in elections and then in forming non-Congress governments in several states in North India. In 1974–75, Jayaprakash Narayan permitted the RSS, Jan Sangh and Jamaat-i-Islami to become the backbone of his movement of ‘Total Revolution’ against Congress and Indira Gandhi. In 1977, the Jan Sangh became a part of the Janata Party. In November 1989 elections, the Janata Dal, under the leadership of V.P. Singh, formed an indirect electoral alliance with the BJP and then formed a government at the Centre with its support. The Communist parties sanctioned both steps, though indirectly^[4]. Political leaders often indulge in all types of concessions to pander to communal sentiments. For example, Shah Bano case, Muslims reacted aggressively against the Supreme Court judgement which granted a Muslim divorcee, Shah Bano, maintenance in excess and in protraction of the Shari’ah, which permits maintenance only for the iddah period. The then Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi overturned the judgement by passing the Muslim Women’s Act 1986 or be it the case of opening the gates of the then disputed Ayodhya mosque-temple in 1986.These concessions to Hindu and Muslims communalism did not lessen communal tension but only aggravate them. This political appeasement has been one of the main factor responsible for the growth of communalism. Rumours, abetted by media have worsened the situation in recent years. Media has often received the flak for biased reporting. Recently the Hindu tinge in Nationalists thoughts and propaganda is not good for the communal harmony. In reality very little has been done to address the situation and all these factors have just aggravated the situation.

ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES

            The Congress party claims that it has always fought communalism but this does not reflect the whole truth. When communal marauders are on the rampage, the congress party has looked the other way around be it the case of anti-Sikh riots, or the babri demolition and in many other such situations when the fire of communal violence is raging.

            It is for this reason that many a critics blame Congress being more communal than BJP, as lot of communal violence has taken place when congress has been in power. These criticisms, though incorrect, shows the failure on the part of the congress party and their inability to solve the communal issues. The Congress party hardly intervened to stop the communal violence.  There are two main reasons responsible for this. One, the communal forces have infiltrated various wings of our state apparatus, police, bureaucracy, even army and judiciary as pointed out by Digvijay Singh. And second, as Nehru had correctly warned that many a power seekers who are communal have entered Congress without any conviction for secular values.^[5] The Congress party has been very lax, and has kept short term electoral gains over their principled politics. Recently, the party has officially maintained that it will abide by the top court’s verdict on Ayodhya and its stand on the biased judgment shows that this party is not bold enough to call the spade a spade. The Congress kept quiet on Ayodhya verdict while as a matter of fact this judgment has been far away from the values of Indian Constitution, from the secular and democratic ethos of our freedom movement of which Congress under Gandhi and Nehru was the moving force. If only the Congress party is firm on their secularism it must take up the affirmative actions for minorities in full the political discourse of India gear. The events post 2014 shows how secularism is clawing back into. It should be ensured by the congress party that the new recruits are not carrying the baggage of communal biases prevalent in the society. There is an in-depth need for the congress party to return to its core value of upholding secularism. Otherwise, the claims of being a secular party will just remain a declaration of the intent lacking in any substance.

            On the other hand, BJP openly used the communal card for political purpose and declared itself a Hindu Party and using Hindutava ideologies in elections. It would take eighteen years for Bharatiya janata party Hindutva agenda to help realise Vajpayee’s prophecy. But hindutava wasn’t always the BJP’s war cry. In the 1980’s Hindu unity was more of a social cause than an election issue but it just took one election for the bharatiya janata party to find its ideological calling. In 1977 general elections, a non-congress government came into the power for the very first time. The janata party was essentially an amalgamation of various political parties that represented hindutava socialist and communist school of thoughts. But it soon becomes clear that a shaky alliance is equal to unstable government. After the binding force of this alliance passed away, the ideological differences came to the fore. To build cohesive party socialist leaders of the government asked their party men to give up their dual membership. What they really wanted was for the Jan Sangh leaders to quit the RSS.Jan Sangh leaders had a choice to make and so on 6^th April 1980 Jan Sangh leaders quit the Janata party and formed the Bhartiya Janata party. The newly formed BJP had the experience of being in the government with the support of some prominent Jan Sangh leaders and the backing of the RSS. Yet they chose to adopt a Gandhian Socialist ideology of self-rule and lok neeti. It was believed that Vajpayee was afraid of alienating non-upper caste voters and so, did not embrace the RSS’ Hindutava ideology. In fact, he insisted on adding the term secular to the party’s constitution. But in the 1984 election, the BJP could win only 2 loksabha seats. This defeat changed everything. Vajpayee remained the face of the party and Lal Krishna Advani became the poster boy of BJP and RSS’ Hindutava agenda. Together they launched the Rath Yatra and changed the political course and the BJP’s electoral fortunes forever. Ram ke Naam a documentary by Anand patwardhan (1991) which is based on the ground report and brings out real secular nature of India behind the noise of Hindu dominance. This documentary exposes the true agenda of political leaders who used Bhagwan Shri Ram only to win elections. The Ayodhya issue was not religious, but it was absolutely political. When the Rath Yatra (September 1990) was being performed under the leadership of LK Advani, Bhanu Kumar Shastri, a former member of Parliament, bluntly told, the times of India, that, “The election campaign has begun. The real question is whether or not, Ram Bhakti will translate into votes.”  In the election of 1989 they won an eye-opening 80 seats and Advani being the party’s public face. His unapologetically shrill Rath Yatra, the demolition of the babri masjid and the communal violence that accompanied these events changed Indian politics. In 1996 the BJP emerged as a single largest party in the country, well it was the hindutava that got them there. The government collapsed after 13 days. But then the collision govt. was formed and from 1999-2004 Vajpayee ruled the full term. In 2004 BJP suffered a shock defeat and BJP became invincible. But in 2014, it was Narendra Modi’s political air who led the lotus party back to the power. He caught the voter’s imagination like no political leader ever did.  And Modi promised to bring his ‘Gujarat model ‘of high growth rates but the ‘Gujarat Model’ has also promoted the right-wing populist politics. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when the massive series of Hindu Muslim riots happened, following the horrible killing of fifty seen kar sevaks travelling in a train, in the town of Godhra, was the direct sequel of communal politics.^[6]   Post 2014 a lot has happened and the BJP’s hypocrisy on Indian Muslims and secularism can be seen out there in the politics. It has always been questioned why Muslims can’t trust the BJP’s government. But there are enough reasons for Muslims to not trust the BJP’s regime. Many Member of Parliament, MLA’s, chief ministers or senior officials have openly aired the communal sentiments and making hate speeches. This has become the new normal in our country. In 2015, Yogi Adityanath, the current chief minister then Member of Parliament said that, “There is no difference between the language of Shah Rukh Khan and that of Hafiz Saeed”. Once he also said “Hindus and Muslims have different cultures, these two cannot coexist, this clash will definitely happen”. All such instances of hate speech by him were made before he was promoted to his chief, minister’s post. It is so disappointing to see person with such communal mind has been given the post of chief minister. And what shocks me the most is that he is also considered as the face of BJP after modi. People look him up to as the future Prime Minister. In March 2016, Anant Kumar Hegde, who was Member of Parliament from Karnataka, said “As long as we have Islam in the world, there will be no end to terrorism. If we are unable to end Islam, we won’t be able to end terrorism”. Despite such statements, Modi government made him the union minister of skill and development and entrepreneurship in September 2017.And in December 2017 he said that party would remove the term “secular’’ from the constitution, saying “These people who call themselves secularists are like people without parentage or who don’t know their blood line”. Varun Gandhi, BJP’s Minister of Parliament, has once said, “After the elections my hand will slits the throats of these Muslim dogs”. According to the report of NDTV, from May 2014 to the present, there have been 124 instances of hate speech by 45 politicians, compared to 21 instances under UPA 2, an increase of 490%. 90% of hateful comments made during the NDA term are by BJP politicians^[7].Since 2014 many ministers and senior party leaders have supported the ideology of Hindutva openly. There is no doubt that the attacks against the minorities have risen sharply. Issues like cow-slaughter have been raised continuously as a means of dividing communities. Through all these ways they always keep Muslims in a state of constant fear and insecurity. This rivalry between the different castes and religious communities will result into slow and uneven socio-economic development of our country.

COMMUNAL ORGANISATIONS

            There has been dramatic rise of religious organisation in India especially, the right-wing Hindu organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang dal. Moreover, and political parties like BJP and shiv sena are also the right –wing Hindu organisations. They all functions on the ideology of Hindutva and are anti-minority in their stance. Bharatiya Janata Party is backed by the RSS or say, it is the political front of RSS. RSS is politically significant organisation and it cannot be ignored. RSS spreads its message all over India by establishing local branches that encourage young men to join as cadres. The RSS was banned for few years after Gandhi assassination. But after the ban was lifted the movement grew. In the 1960’s RSS volunteers joined or initiated different movements across the country from student organisation to labour unions, religious groups to healthcare services. The Sangh Parivar, the Hindu nationalist movement began to creep into the social and political space of India. Most of the BJP leaders, even the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister Amit Shah were the member of RSS. Even Narendra Modi before becoming the Prime Minister once said, “The nation and Hindus are one. Only if Hindus develop will the nation develop. Unity of Hindus will strengthen the nation”. This reflects their commitment to the ideology of Hindutva. Since 2014 the ruling government has been accused of rewriting India’s history through curriculum and cultural reforms that play down the country’s rich diverse past. Hindu nationalist’s mobs have been emboldened to attack Muslims and Dalits for slaughtering cows. The minorities feel more insecure and vulnerable since the BJP has come to power in 2014.Issues like cow slaughter, building Ram temple, ghar vapasi program that is, enforced conversion of minorities back to Hinduism has been again raised by RSS. The word ‘mob lynching’ is no alien to our country. But a sudden upsurge in the cases of mob lynching has been only post 2014.It would not be hard to say that the RSS has nothing to do with these mob attacks. Post 2014 more than 47 people have been killed in cow-related hate crime, 76% of these were Muslims. They were attacked by groups of cow vigilantes, who claimed to protect the cow that is worshipped by Hindus. There has been no cow related lynching between 2010-2013. The cow worshipped by Hindus, is now a means of Hindu Nationalism. And Muslims are being murdered in the name of cow, Even the Supreme Court has asked the government to frame strict laws against mob lynching but till now there has been no bill or law passed regarding mob-lynching. In Alwar alone Akbar khan was killed in July 2018, Umar khan shot dead in November 2017 and pehlu khan was lynched in public view in April 2017.Mob lynching is not something which rarely happens in the heat of the moment but these are pre-planned and organised attacks. There are hundreds of WhatsApp groups in name of gaurakshaks, propaganda videos of gau raksha are circulated non-stop and these videos just take seconds to go viral even if they are fake. This is to point out that these cow vigilantes have no legal authority to stop search and harass anyone but support from the police ensures that they function with impunity. The police will have nothing against you because there is no nature of mob. In right sense if you are a leader, you have got to lead by example. When the deed is done, condemn those who did it, but in India elected leaders justify their crime, garland the criminals, deny it ever happened or blame the victim. People who were involved these crimes were treated as heroes as the protector of nation or many come out in their support, etc. So much so, many accused in mob –lynching plan to contest elections. The impact of this lynchistan world is fear, the loss, and the hatred. The worst impact of it all is how easy it has become now to replicate the model of cow vigilantism culture. As the cops are complicit, vigilantes are encouraged, minorities persecuted and often their patriotism is questioned. Recently, Delhi has experience some of its worst religious riots over India’s controversial citizenship law. The clashes between Hindus and Muslims began on 23 February after Kapil Mishra, a local leader from BJP party was said to have riled up a Hindu group to attack protesting Muslims groups. And till now there has been no legal action taken against him. Delhi witnessed a really gruesome 72-hour period violence that broke out between Hindus and Muslims group in north-eastern part of Delhi .53 people have died and more than hundreds were injured Mosques have been attacked, cars and petrol stations set on fire, and shops vandalised. There have been reports of looting n some Muslim homes which had been abandoned out of fear. It is true that there has been brutality on both sides, but it was Muslim community of Delhi who were overwhelming targeted by Hindu mobs in their tens of thousands.^[8] Many of the videos and images of violence shared online shows the perpetrators were affiliated to RSS, as they can be recognised by their chants and Hindu prayers. Police has been accused of stirring the violence as there are videos explicitly showing their support to one particular group. Since the Modi government came back to power in May 2019. It has moved with a real sense of urgency and kind of a clarity and purpose of enacting a pro-Hindu agenda.

ROLE OF MEDIA IN SPREADING HATE

            Is India’s media facing a credibility crisis? News channels in India have become a platform to peddle hatred against Muslims. The Muslims are being openly targeted and ridiculed on live television debates and in reporting. Senior India journalists Gulf News spoke to for this article admitted that a large section of mainstream media is pursuing an agenda to vilify Muslims and projecting the entire community as backward and disloyal to India, they said. On live televisions ,they are openly called ‘anti-national’ and these sustained daily attacks on Muslims are causing fissures in the society .Moreover, this hatred has acquired primetime legitimacy due to the massive reach of these channels.^[9] TV media should cover the communal dispute in a manner that upholds the secular nature of the country, and refrains from inciting communal passions. But the opposite happens. They ridicule the community and pass their verdicts on news channels. For example, Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary recited the NBSA guidelines, only to suggest that the best solution would be for a temple to be built at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and that Muslims should agree to such a proposition. Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami, while calling for peace, repeatedly criticised lawyers representing the “Muslim side” and called their legal appeals a “craft of distraction”. Goswami, time and again, described the legal defence mounted by the “Muslim side” as delay tactics^[10].  Many reporters or anchors are seen as aggressive right-wingers and they think pandering communal sentiments helps in gaining attention. Recently, worst was making a pandemic covid19 a communal issue after the Tablighi Jamat gatherings in Delhi. Media is supposed to question the people in power but what has happened in the past six years is that the media has become a stooge of the ruling government. They have stopped questioning the ruling government and to make matters worse they have been propagating the divisive and even the negative agendas of ruling party. A string of high –profile resignations at ABP News last year laid bare the extent of the pressure journalists are under. Journalist Abhishar Sharma, managing editor Milind Kandekar and an anchor Punya Prasun Bajpai resigned in 2018 when ABP called out Modi for the claim he made that farmers were doubling their income as a result of his policies. After leaving, Bajpai wrote an expose detailing the extent of censorship. And he goes on to say, “The message sharp and clear for news channel was this Go against us and your business will suffer”. Threats and violence are becoming a new normal for journalists in India. Around 50 journalists have lost their life within the last 12 years. The country has also slipped in the world freedom index to 140 out of the 180 countries listed. That’s behind even Afghanistan and South Sudan. Rigorous journalism is still taking place mostly through online outlets.  Mainstream news channels, whether the newspaper are under a lot of pressure from the ruling government. This lack of freedom of media can lead to death of democracy in India.

            The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, started from Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where Indira Gandhi’s body had been brought. Mobs armed with weapons thronged the areas with a large Sikh presence and began looting and burning shops and business establishments belonging to Sikhs. Members of the Sikh community were dragged out of their homes, beaten mercilessly and slaughtered in the four days that followed^[11].It’s been 36 years and the victim of riots still awaits for justice. They just wish to find closure through the punishment of the perpetrators. Is it right or wrong to expect from the current government for some serious actions against the accused of riots or hate speech after the Gujarat riots in 2002 when Modi was the chief Minister of Gujarat? After the Gujarat riots in 2002, both media and official enquiry reports said gangs of rioters went around with lists of people and houses to be targeted. A cross-mark was put on the doors of Muslim households, and a day later they were attacked. People were pulled out of their home, raped, butchered on the streets or whole buildings were set on fire and people burnt alive. The rest is history. Narendra Modi became Hindu Hriday Samrat. Then, facing worldwide opprobrium, transformed into ‘Vikas Purush’. And eventually became the Prime Minister.^[12]This says enough about the state actions against the riot accused. Government should work towards framing the strict laws for mob lynching as the cases are increasing rapidly. Strict actions should be taken against the people who make the hate speech. And the perpetrators of the communal riots should not go unpunished. Nothing is more important than the socio-economic development of our country. It’s the cultural and religious diversity of India which makes it different from other countries in the world.

CONCLUSION

            Communal politics in India has been on the rise. The political parties continuously incite communalism. India’s secularism is in danger as the ruling party i.e. Bhartiya Janata Party is the political front of the RSS, a communal right-wing organisation which is rooted on the ideology of Hindutva and are anti-minority in their stance. Lately, media needs to be more responsible in addressing the communal issues. Primetime of the news channels has become the platform of harbouring hate towards Muslim community. The need of the hour is to find a viable solution, to this national problem urgently at political, social and religious levels. As Dr. Ambedhkar noted seven decades ago that, “If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt be the greatest calamity for this country. No matter what the Hindus say, Hinduism is menace to liberty equality and fraternity. On that account it is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost…. they take every move to exclude the lower classes of Hindus from wealth, education and power as a close preserve for themselves and refusing to share it, which the high-caste Hindus have developed in their relation with lower classes of Hindus, is sought to be extended by them to the Muslims” (cited in Salam, 2016).

REFERENCES

1. N Shukla, Constitution of India (Eastern Book Company,13^th edition,2017).
2. http://www.hindu.com.
3. Bipan Chandra, communalism in Modern India, new Delhi: Vikas PublishingHouse,1984, p.2.
4. Asghar Ali Engineer and Ram Puniyani(ed), Ayodhya verdict: Towards efforts for peaceful solution, New Delhi: Vitasta Publication ,2012.
5. Rafiq Zakaria, Communal Rage in Secular India, Mumbai: Popular Prakashan, 2003.
6. http://www.decanherald.com.
7. http://www.guardian.com.
8. Dharmendra Kaur J., “Indian Muslims: A Social Question”, Third Concept, May 2010.

[1] S.L Malhotra Communalism in India: Causes and Cure, a paper presented at a National seminar n 19^th Oct 1987 in New Delhi, secularism in India New Delhi: Har Anand Publications, 1995. p.147.

[2] Zenab Banu, Politics of communalism, Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1984, p.4.

[3] http://www.ukessays.com.

[4] http://erenow.net.

[5] http://www.countercurrents.org.

[6] Dipankar Gupta, “Between Ethnicity and Communalism: The significance of the Nation State”, in Ravindra Kumar (ed.), Religion, Violence and Political Mobilization in South Asia, New Delhi: publication, 2005, p.101.

[7] http://www.ndtv.com.

[8] http://www.theguardian.com.

[9] http://gulfnews.com.

[10]http://www.newslaundary.com.

[11] http://aljazeera.com

[12] http://www.decanherald.com.

Authored By:

SARIKA YADAV

Student of Law, Amity Law School, Noida, Amity University Uttar Pradesh

Disclaimer: This article has been published in Legal Desire International Journal on Law, ISSN 2347-3525 , Issue 22, Vol 7