Modern Religious and Secular Movements in India

Submitted to: Rev. Dr. V. S. Varughese

Communalism and Fundamentalism

1. Introduction

Communalism and fundamentalism are two very real problems in the global and Indian contexts. These
factors divide society and pit one community against another. By understanding its nature, origins and
mode of operation, we may be able to understand how to address the crises the trouble society today.

2. Secularism

Secularization in the European context meant liberation from the hold of feudal and church power. It
occurs when economies begin to integrate newer production processes due to advancements in science
and technology.1 The secularization movement is welcomed by both the industrialist and the oppressed
common people. The industrialist needs more social powers. Those oppressed by the social hierarchy
such as the peasantry and women look forward to the industries as a liberation from this social hierarchy.
Secularization arrives as new social relationships and new rationality clash with the old feudal-church
nexus and prescientific social ideas.2

2.1. Secularization in India

The two movements that contributed to the secularization of India were: (1) the independence
movement against the control of colonial powers and (2) regional movements against the social hierarchy,
caste system and gender oppression which aimed at breaking the grip of the landlords, Brahmins and the
caste system.3 The Western education system brought modernization. The colonial rule of the British gave
Indians a new spirit of national consciousness. Positive factors such as Western liberalism, free press and
modern communications, and negative factors such as racial arrogance, economic exploitation and
European cultural superiority all contributed to this development. In addition to breaking free of the
hegemony of the Indian systems, Indians also were able to free themselves from colonial rule through the
consciousness that they gained. Examples include the work of Jotirao Phule and his Satyashodhak Samaj

1
Ram Puniyani, Fundamentalism: Threat to Secular Democracy (Thiruvanthapuram: Mythri Books, 2007),
16
2
Ibid., 17
3
Ibid., 18
(Maharashtra) among the lower castes, Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy Naiker and the 1926 “Self Respect
Movement” for secularization in Tamil society, and B. R. Ambedkar and the organization of Dalits. 4

The process of secularization was slow because the colonial powers only permitted as much
modernization was necessary for their intentions for India. The secular democratic movement led by
Congress also worked with many limitations and compromises especially in cast and workers movements.
Congress was concerned with the freedom movement over the need for changes in social relations in
Indian society. The political tensions in India through the British colonial aspirations, the freedom
struggles of Gandhi and Nehru, and the communal manifestation of social powers by forces such as the
Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS retarded the growth of the secularization process. 5 In the
post-independence era, Nehru brought secular principles to the level of state policy. The strain between
the secular Constitution and a semi-secular society has grown, especially in the recent decades.
Secularism was recognized as the ideological platform for the multi-religious, multi-caste, and multi-
ethnic population of India. It meant that the power of colonial rulers and feudal interests had to be
overcome, especially the power of the clergy which was tied to the ruling class. Secularism meant moving
the clergy away from the political system; secularism is not anti-religion. A secular state means that
democratic system where policies are made by the people and their elected representatives. 6 One may
follow their own faith yet religious authorities do not dictate the policies of the state.

3. Communalism

The rise of communism is a complex process. Communalism arose from three fronts: the politics of
Muslim feudal lords, Hindu landowners and British “divide and rule” policy. 7 It was communalism that
led to the partitioning of India. Communal ideology is defined by Bipan Chandra as the belief that people
who on the same religion not only have common religious beliefs but also common political, economic,
social and cultural interests.8 Communal ideology can be found in any notion of religious community. The
danger arises when the religious community becomes the base for the promotion of secular interests, in
particular the promotion of the interests of that group. Communal violence arises the secular interests of
one community are promoted over the other leading to tensions. There are different types of
communalism in the Indian context. The classification proposed by T. K. Oommen is as follows: (1)
assimilationist communalism of the State and conservative Hindus who tried to define non-Hindus as

4
Ibid., 18-19
5
Ibid., 20
6
Ibid., 23
7
ibid., 30
8
Gabriele Dietrich and Bas Wielenga, Towards Understanding Indian Society (Tiruvalla: Christava Sahitya
Samithy, 2012), 192
Hindus; (2) welfarist communalism which aims at improving the welfare of a particular community; (3)
retreatist communalism, whereby minority religious groups withdraw from politics in the name of
religion; (4) retaliatory communalism which is the mechanism in communal riots; (5) separatist
communalism which insists on separate cultural identity; (6) secessionist communalism, the outcrop of
separatist communalism.9 Communalism, in addition to the religious factor, is also spurred on by political
and economic factors. Growing economic and political power can increase tensions between different
communities. A strategy in response to the threat of majority communalism is to acknowledge that
religion cannot be privatized and a variety of social identities must be developed and expressed
simultaneously according to the whole range of social needs. 10 Since people cut across religious divides in
their daily interactions in life and society to meet different purposes, they develop a full set of identities
broader than abstract national or economic identities stop the strengthening of civil society is a counter to
the politicized of religion because it encourages interaction between peoples at the personal level for the
sake of justice and peace through mutual tolerance, neighborhood, social responsibility and faith. 11

4. Fundamentalism

Oftentimes, fundamentalism is confused with communalism. In the Indian debate, these terms are
used synonymously. Communalism is “political mobilization of a community the name of religion often
for the vested interests of the elite of a community” but community identity is given more emphasis over
religious faith.12 Religious fundamentalism is known by a variety of meanings and often times it is
associated with Islamic fundamentalism. 13 the concept of fundamentalism cannot be restricted religion,
e.g. there is such a thing as Marxist fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is coined in the 1920s, in the
American Protestant context to define the idea of the “fundamentals of Christianity”. The goal was to
defend conservative Christianity against the growing liberal Christian views. The prevailing definition of
fundamentalism is imprecise because of its development in the Western world, its relation to Christianity
and a negative Western view of Islam. The current use of the term “fundamentalism” is both pejorative,
does not translate well into other cultures and ignores the political element. 14 It is important to realize that
the fear of fundamentalism is complex; it is the fear of the misuse of religion in public life as a return to a
“pure religion”. Fundamentalism can be found in all religions and maybe the exaggeration of a few
principles of irreligion. It can be apolitical but also susceptible to socioeconomic and political
9
Ibid., 193
10
Ibid., 198
11
Ibid., 198
12
Ninan Koshy, "Religous Fundamentalism: A Global Reality," in Religion, State and Communalism: A
Post-Ayodhya Reflection, edited by J. John, & Jesudas Athyal, (Madras: The Academy of Ecumenical Indian
Theology and Church Administration, 1995), 160
13
Ibid., 153
14
Ibid., 157-158
exploitation. It can stagnate a highly dynamic religion. It denies plurality in the search for truth and
reinforces the patriarchal structures to deny gender justice.15

In the Indian context and in relation to the Hindu religion, fundamentalism is difficult to place. There
are questions as to whether Hinduism can be called a religion because it does not fit into the overarching
definition of religion found in the sociology of religions. A general definition of religion as “a human
attempt to communicate with the divine irrespective of historicity and contingence,… as a historical
phenomenon,… and corporately shared coherent systems of world explanation and values” is difficult to
apply to Hinduism.16 Hinduism is better described as a cluster of opposite or contradicting belief systems
and some have questioned whether it is a religion in the classical sense, that it is a modern concept, that it
is a syndicated religion, or an orientalist construct. Yet it will suffice to say that religious fundamentalism
is an extreme form of religion; it is a religious challenge and calls for religious answers. Responses to
religious fundamentalism can be found in religious expressions and require understanding the particular
religious context from which fundamentalism arises.17

5. Conclusion

The degradation of relationships within a society today can be attributed to a rise in communalism and
fundamentalism. Communalism is the priotorizing of one community over the other for the purposes of
political and social gain. Fundamentalism is the misplaced notion of the superiority of one religion over
another. Both fracture society along certain ideological lines. Overall, a nation divided in this manner
becomes a place of community conflicts. Communalism and fundamentalism work against nation-
building; it hinders the progress and development of the nation and its people.

15
Ibid., 160
16
Andreas Nehring, "Religious, Political and Cultural Fundamentalism: Challenges for Theologizing," in
Religion, State and Communalism: A Post-Ayodhya Reflection, edited by J. John, & Jesudas Athyal, (Madra: The
Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration, 1995), 186
17
Ibid., 188
Bibliography
Dietrich, Gabriele, and Bas Wielenga. Towards Understanding Indian Society. Tiruvalla: Christava
Sahitya Samithy, 2012.

John, J., and Athyal Jesudas, . Religion, State and Communalism: A Post-Ayodhya Reflection. Madras:
The Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration, 1995.

Koshy, Ninan. "Religous Fundamentalism: A Global Reality." In Religion, State and Communalism: A
Post-Ayodhya Reflection, edited by J. John, & Jesudas Athyal, 153-167. Madras: The Academy
of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration, 1995.

Nehring, Andreas. "Religious, Political and Cultural Fundamentalism: Challenges for Theologizing." In
Religion, State and Communalism: A Post-Ayodhya Reflection, edited by J. John, & Jesudas
Athyal, 182-199. Madra: The Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church
Administration, 1995.

Puniyani, Ram. Fundamentalism: Threat to Secular Democracy. Thiruvanthapuram: Mythri Books, 2007.