Question

Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding the term ‘communalism’?

Options

• Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to unify one community around a religious identity in hostile opposition to another community.

• Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to divide one community around a religious identity in hostile opposition to another community.

• Communalism attempts to consolidate this identity and present it as natural - as if people were born into the identity, as if the identities do not evolve through history over time.

• Communalism is a particular kind of politicisation of religious, is identity, an ideology that seeks to promote 'conflict between religious communities.

Answer 1

Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to divide one community around a religious identity in hostile opposition to another community.

Explanation:

Communalism is a political ideology that seeks to unite one community around a religious identity while opposing another. It seeks to establish this community identity as fundamental and unchanging. It attempts to solidify this identity and present it as natural - as if people were born into it, as if identities do not evolve over time. To unite the community, communalism suppresses distinctions within the community and emphasises the community's essential unity against other communities. One could argue that communalism fosters hatred for an identified "other" - "Hindus" in the case of Muslim communalism, and "Muslims" in the case of Hindu communalism. This hatred fuels a violent politics. Communalism, then, is a distinct phenomenon.