This MCQ module is based on: Religion, Communalism & Secular State
TOPIC 9 OF 18
Religion, Communalism & Secular State
🎓 Class 10
Social Science
CBSE
Theory
Ch 3 — Gender, Religion and Caste
⏱ ~15 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
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[myaischool_lt_sst_assessment grade_level="class_10" subject="civics" difficulty="intermediate"]
Religion, Communalism and Politics
NCERT Democratic Politics-II | Chapter 3: Gender, Religion and Caste
How Religion Connects with Politics — Legitimate and Communal
Unlike gender, divisions based on religion are not universal in every country, but religious diversity is widespread across the globe. India, in particular, is home to followers of many faiths. Religious differences frequently find expression in politics — but this is not inherently dangerous. Consider these examples where religion and politics intersect in legitimate ways:
Gandhiji's View
Gandhiji held that politics should be guided by moral and ethical values drawn from religion — not the doctrines of any specific faith, but the universal ethical principles common to all religions.
Protecting Minorities
Human rights organisations have demanded that the government take steps to protect religious minorities and prevent communal riots. This is a legitimate political demand.
Reforming Family Laws
Women's movements argue that family laws across all religions discriminate against women, and have demanded gender-equitable legal reforms. This connects religion, gender, and politics.
These connections are not harmful. People should be able to voice their needs as members of a religious community in the political arena. Those in power may sometimes need to regulate religious practice to prevent discrimination. Such political engagement is perfectly acceptable — as long as the state treats all religions equally.
What Is Communalism and How It Divides Society
Definition
Communal Politics: A way of using religion in politics that treats one religious community as the principal social unit, pits one faith against another, and seeks to establish domination of one religious group over others through state power.
The trouble begins when religion is treated as the basis of nationhood. Communalism? is built on a dangerous chain of assumptions:
- All followers of a particular religion form one community with identical fundamental interests.
- Any differences within the religious group are trivial and irrelevant.
- People of different religions cannot share common interests and their relationship will inevitably involve conflict.
- In its most extreme form, communalism claims that followers of different faiths cannot coexist as equal citizens within one nation.
Why This Is Flawed
People who follow the same religion do not have identical interests in every context. Every individual holds multiple identities — as a worker, a woman, a resident of a particular region, a speaker of a language, and so on. Attempts to reduce a person's identity to religion alone invariably suppress many voices within that community.
Forms of Communalism in Politics
Communal thinking manifests in Indian politics in several distinct forms, ranging from everyday prejudice to organised violence:
Everyday Prejudice
Religious stereotyping and the belief that one's own religion is superior to others. This is the most common and often unnoticed form of communalism.
Quest for Dominance
For majority communities, this takes the shape of majoritarian dominance. For minorities, it may manifest as demands for a separate political unit or special treatment.
Political Mobilisation
Using sacred symbols, religious leaders, and emotional appeals to consolidate followers of one faith as a single voting bloc during elections.
Communal Violence
The most dangerous expression — riots, massacres, and targeted attacks. India witnessed devastating communal violence during Partition, and episodes have continued in the post-independence period.
Definition
Family Laws: Legal provisions governing marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance. In India, different family laws apply to followers of different religions, which women's movements argue often discriminate against women.
How Communalism Escalates — From Prejudice to Violence
L4 AnalyseEveryday Prejudice & Stereotyping
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Quest for Political Dominance
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Religious Mobilisation in Elections
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Communal Tensions & Riots
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Large-Scale Violence & Massacres
Religious Diversity of India — Population Composition
The Census of India records the religion of every citizen once every ten years. Each person's faith is recorded exactly as they describe it — including those who declare themselves atheist or having no religion. This gives us reliable data on how religious composition has changed over time.
Religious Communities in India — Census 2011
L4 AnalyseKey Finding
Since independence, the total population of every religious community has grown substantially, but proportional shares have changed very little. Expert estimates prepared for the Sachar Committee show that the Muslim population share is expected to rise by only 3–4 percentage points over 50 years. The common perception that the population balance between communities is changing dramatically is not supported by data.
Why India Is a Secular State — Constitutional Provisions
Communalism has been and continues to be a major challenge to Indian democracy. The framers of the Indian Constitution recognised this danger clearly and adopted the model of a secular state?. The constitutional provisions that establish India's secular character include:
No Official Religion
Unlike Sri Lanka (Buddhism), Pakistan (Islam), or England (Christianity), India's Constitution does not grant special status to any religion.
Freedom of Religion
All individuals and communities have the freedom to profess, practise, and propagate any religion — or to follow none at all.
No Discrimination
The Constitution prohibits discrimination by the state on grounds of religion.
Right to Intervene
The state can intervene in religious matters to ensure equality within religious communities — for example, banning untouchability even though it was supported by certain religious customs.
Secularism in India is not merely an ideology of some political parties. It forms one of the foundational principles of the republic. Communalism does not threaten just one community — it threatens the very idea of India as a unified, diverse nation. A secular Constitution is necessary but not sufficient to fight communalism; everyday vigilance and the active countering of communal prejudice and propaganda are equally essential.
THINK ABOUT IT — Religion in Politics: Where Do We Draw the Line?
L5 Evaluate
The textbook presents Gandhiji's view that religion and politics cannot be separated, but that "religion" in this context means moral values, not the doctrines of any specific faith.
Consider these questions:
- Is it possible to separate religious ethics from religious identity in political life?
- When does the legitimate expression of religious identity in politics cross the line into communalism?
- Can a person who frequently tells jokes about other religions be considered communal even if they do not support violence?
Guidance
The line is crossed when religion is used not for ethical guidance but for political mobilisation against other communities. Everyday prejudice — including religious jokes and stereotypes — is the foundational layer of communalism. While it may seem harmless, it normalises an "us vs. them" mentality that can be exploited by political leaders for divisive ends. Gandhiji's vision was that the universal moral teachings of all religions should inform political decisions, not that the rituals or identity markers of one faith should dominate governance.
LET'S EXPLORE — Comparing Secular Models
L4 Analyse
Research and compare how secularism works in practice in India, France, and the United States:
- In France, secularism (laicite) bans religious symbols in government buildings and public schools. How does this differ from India's approach?
- The US First Amendment separates church and state but allows religious expression. How does this compare?
- India's Constitution allows the state to intervene in religious practices to promote equality. Why is this considered a unique feature?
Guidance
France practises strict separation — religion has no place in state affairs. The US separates church and state but does not restrict religious expression in public life. India follows a more interventionist model: the state does not favour any religion but retains the power to reform religious practices to ensure social equality (e.g., banning untouchability, reforming personal laws). This makes Indian secularism distinct — it is not indifferent to religion but actively engages with it to promote justice.
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Competency-Based Questions
Case Study: In Country Z, 72% of the population follows Religion A, 18% follows Religion B, and the remaining 10% follow other faiths. After winning a landslide election, the ruling party declares Religion A as the "national faith," mandates that all official proceedings use Religion A's ceremonial language, and channels state funds to build places of worship exclusively for Religion A. Followers of Religion B organise peaceful protests demanding equal treatment. The government dismisses these demands, arguing that as the majority faith, Religion A represents the national identity.
Q1. Identify which form of communalism is most clearly demonstrated by Country Z's government.
L3 Apply
Q2. Analyse how India's constitutional framework would prevent the kind of actions taken by Country Z's government.
L4 Analyse
Q3. Evaluate whether a secular constitution alone is sufficient to prevent communal politics. Support your answer with evidence from the Indian experience.
L5 Evaluate
HOT Q. Design a civic education programme for schools in Country Z that would help counter communal attitudes among young people while respecting all faiths equally.
L6 Create
⚖ Assertion–Reason Questions
Assertion (A): Gandhiji believed that religion and politics should not be separated.
Reason (R): Gandhiji wanted Hinduism to be the guiding religion for Indian politics.
Reason (R): Gandhiji wanted Hinduism to be the guiding religion for Indian politics.
Assertion (A): India's Constitution does not give a special status to any religion.
Reason (R): The Constitution allows the state to intervene in religious matters to ensure equality within religious communities.
Reason (R): The Constitution allows the state to intervene in religious matters to ensure equality within religious communities.
Assertion (A): The proportion of Muslims in India's population is expected to overtake Hindus in the near future.
Reason (R): Expert estimates for the Sachar Committee show that the Muslim population share may rise by about 3–4 percentage points over 50 years.
Reason (R): Expert estimates for the Sachar Committee show that the Muslim population share may rise by about 3–4 percentage points over 50 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is communalism in Class 10 Civics?
Communalism is the belief that people belonging to the same religion form a single community with common political interests that are opposed to other religious communities. In NCERT Class 10 Civics, communalism is described as a three-step ideology: first, followers of a religion must belong to one community; second, their fundamental interests are the same; and third, these interests are opposed to other religious communities. When these ideas are used in politics, it leads to communal tensions and polarisation of society.
What is the difference between religion in politics and communal politics?
Religion in politics can be legitimate when religious communities express their political needs, when moral values derived from religion guide political ethics, or when disadvantaged religious minorities demand equal rights. Communal politics, however, uses religion to gain political power by promoting hatred against other communities, claiming religious superiority, or inciting communal violence. The key difference is that legitimate engagement seeks justice while communalism seeks domination.
What are the features of a secular state?
A secular state has several constitutional features that separate religion from government. In India, these include no official state religion, freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion, prohibition of religious discrimination, equal citizenship rights regardless of faith, and the state's power to intervene in religious practices to ensure equality and social justice. The Indian Constitution forbids communal discrimination in government employment.
What are the forms of communal politics?
Communal politics manifests in several forms according to NCERT Class 10 Civics. These include everyday beliefs about religious superiority such as prejudices about customs, political mobilisation along religious lines using sacred symbols and religious leaders, the desire to establish political dominance of one religion through government control, and the most extreme form being communal violence and riots. Each form reinforces communal divisions and threatens the secular fabric of democracy.
How does the Indian Constitution ensure secularism?
The Indian Constitution ensures secularism through multiple provisions. It does not establish any official religion. Articles 25-28 guarantee freedom of religion to all citizens. Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion. The state can regulate economic, financial, or political activities associated with religious practice. It can take measures for social reform within any religion. The Preamble explicitly describes India as a secular republic, making secularism a basic feature of the Constitution.
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