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Introduction
Communalism, then, is a particular kind of politicization of religious identity, an ideology that seeks to promote conflict between religious communities. In the context of a multireligious country, the phrase "religious nationalism" can come to acquire a similar meaning. In such a country, any attempt to see a religious community as a nation would mean sowing the seeds of antagonism against some other religion/s.
Hypothesis of the study
* Communal consciousness emerged like nationalism as a consequence of modern politics based on people, i.e. modern politics based on notion of popular sovereignty, popular participation of people and politics based on mobilization of public opinion.
* Communalism is not a legacy of medieval India, but it is a particular view of medieval history, where the view itself is based on communal ideology.
* Communalism became a political force only after 1937.
* It's a modern ideology like nationalism, which emerged in British India along with nationalism.
* It was not an inevitable product of Indian history though it definitely borrows some elements of the past, like religious diversity. Hence communalism should not be seen as restoring the past, because it was absent in the past. Its social roots and its socioeconomic, political interests (objectives) are modern.
Review of the study
Hindus and Muslims had fought shoulder to shoulder during the Revolt of 1857. In fact, after the suppression of the Revolt, British officials had taken a particularly vindictive attitude towards the Muslims, hanging 27,000 Muslims in Delhi alone. From now on the Muslims were in general looked upon with suspicion.But this attitude changed in the 1870s. With the rise of the nationalist movement the British statesmen grew apprehensive about the safety and stability of their empire in India.To check the growth of a united national feeling in the country, they decided to follow more actively the policy of 'divide and rule' and to divide the people along religious lines, in other words, to encourage communal and separatist tendencies in Indian politics.
For this purpose they decided to come out as 'champions' of the Muslims and to win over to their side Muslim zamindars, landlords and the newly educated. They also fostered other divisions in Indian society. They promoted provincialism by talking of Bengali domination. They...