Hindu and Muslim Communalism
1. Introduction
“Hindus hear and enjoy the Azan as dusk falls, Muslims walk past and enjoy the smells of Hindu flowers and incense and the sounds of chants and temple bells — that is India, that is Indian secularism.” ---------- Dr. Subroto Roy
Communalism and communal parties and organizations are an integral part of present day politics. Communalism is one of the most serious problems that Indian society is facing since her freedom from colonial rule. It is adversely affecting the unity and integrity of our nation. Communalism as a concept is defined as an ideology or belief system according to which people in a society belonging to one religion have common, economic, social and political interest and these …show more content…
The Hindu- Muslim communalism took its worst phase resulting in massive bloodshed. These were the Gujarat Riots of 2002.
Godhra Incident
The immediate provocation for this violence was an incident that took place at a station called Godhra. On the morning of 27 February 2002 at Godhra, a bogey full of Karsevaks, returning from Ayodhya was put on fire resulting in death of 58 people including 15 women and 20 children. They were actually part of the campaign of the VHP, for the construction of Ram temple at the site of Babri Masjid which was demolished by a communally aroused crowd on 6 December 1992.
The actual incident as has been brought out by various reports and enquiries was of a quarrel between karsevak passengers and Muslim vendors at the station. Some of the reports unfold that the Muslims were asked to shout slogans in the praise of Lord Ram by the Karsevaks, when they refused their beards were pulled. This infuriated the Muslims in the neighborhood and they started stoning the train, but the train started moving. However, it was stopped at the outskirts of the station where one of the coaches in which the Karsevaks were travelling caught fire and the tragedy …show more content…
Conclusion
To conclude this project work, I would like to say that communalism is still a big problem and hinders the path of development and upliftment of our country. Arvind Kejrival has also stated that, “Communalism is a bigger problem than corruption.” The destruction of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992, demonstrated the power of religious fundamentalism in India, which prides itself on its democracy and religious tolerance. This showed what effect the communalism can have in politics. BJP benefitted immensely from the communal passions of the Hindus which were the majority population in the country.
It appears from the outset that the issue is the religious one but in reality it’s not that way. The communalists who were involved in this issue were not at all interested in religion; they were just interested in the manipulation and exploitation of the religion for their own benefit to reach their political ends. The communalists actually play with the religious sentiments of the people; make them raise arms against each other, give rise to riots resulting in massive
1. Introduction
“Hindus hear and enjoy the Azan as dusk falls, Muslims walk past and enjoy the smells of Hindu flowers and incense and the sounds of chants and temple bells — that is India, that is Indian secularism.” ---------- Dr. Subroto Roy
Communalism and communal parties and organizations are an integral part of present day politics. Communalism is one of the most serious problems that Indian society is facing since her freedom from colonial rule. It is adversely affecting the unity and integrity of our nation. Communalism as a concept is defined as an ideology or belief system according to which people in a society belonging to one religion have common, economic, social and political interest and these …show more content…
The Hindu- Muslim communalism took its worst phase resulting in massive bloodshed. These were the Gujarat Riots of 2002.
Godhra Incident
The immediate provocation for this violence was an incident that took place at a station called Godhra. On the morning of 27 February 2002 at Godhra, a bogey full of Karsevaks, returning from Ayodhya was put on fire resulting in death of 58 people including 15 women and 20 children. They were actually part of the campaign of the VHP, for the construction of Ram temple at the site of Babri Masjid which was demolished by a communally aroused crowd on 6 December 1992.
The actual incident as has been brought out by various reports and enquiries was of a quarrel between karsevak passengers and Muslim vendors at the station. Some of the reports unfold that the Muslims were asked to shout slogans in the praise of Lord Ram by the Karsevaks, when they refused their beards were pulled. This infuriated the Muslims in the neighborhood and they started stoning the train, but the train started moving. However, it was stopped at the outskirts of the station where one of the coaches in which the Karsevaks were travelling caught fire and the tragedy …show more content…
Conclusion
To conclude this project work, I would like to say that communalism is still a big problem and hinders the path of development and upliftment of our country. Arvind Kejrival has also stated that, “Communalism is a bigger problem than corruption.” The destruction of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992, demonstrated the power of religious fundamentalism in India, which prides itself on its democracy and religious tolerance. This showed what effect the communalism can have in politics. BJP benefitted immensely from the communal passions of the Hindus which were the majority population in the country.
It appears from the outset that the issue is the religious one but in reality it’s not that way. The communalists who were involved in this issue were not at all interested in religion; they were just interested in the manipulation and exploitation of the religion for their own benefit to reach their political ends. The communalists actually play with the religious sentiments of the people; make them raise arms against each other, give rise to riots resulting in massive