Communalism and Politics

Conflicts over religion frequently appear in the political sphere. In India, there are adherents of numerous religions. People should be able to voice their needs, interests, and demands in politics as members of a religious community. When one religious group’s demands are set forth in opposition to another’s and when State authority is used to establish one religious group’s domination over the others, this is referred to as communal politics. This takes place when:

1. It is demonstrated that one religion’s beliefs are superior to those of other religions.
2. The desires of two different religious groups conflict.
3. One religious group is given the upper hand over others through state power.

In politics, communalism can appear in many different forms, such as

1. The most notable examples of communalism in common beliefs are religious prejudices, stereotypes about religious groupings, and faith in one’s religion’s superiority over other religions.
2. Having a communal worldview frequently results in the desire to politically govern over one’s own religious community.
3. In order to unite adherents of one religion in the political sphere, religious political mobilization employs sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal, and plain old fear.

The fundamental tenet of communal politics is that religion serves as the cornerstone of a social community. The following way of thinking is communalist. A specific religion’s adherents must form a single community. Any differences they could have are unimportant or unimportant to daily life in the group. People who practice various religions cannot be a part of the same social group, it also follows.

In its most severe form, communalism promotes the idea that people of various religions cannot coexist as equal citizens in the same country. Either one of them must rule the others, or else new nations must be formed.