Why does religious violence persist in a nation with a secular, tolerant constitution?
In short: Despite India's constitutional commitment to secularism and a diverse government, sporadic and serious religious violence remains a recurring challenge. Rooted in complex historical legacies, political maneuvering, and social tensions, these conflicts often involve Hindu and Muslim communities, though other religious groups have also been drawn into cycles of violence.
The origins of modern religious violence in India are frequently traced to the British colonial era. Historians argue that the 'divide and rule' policy, which treated Hindus and Muslims as distinct, competing groups for administrative purposes, deepened existing social fissures. This strategy, intended to prevent unified revolts, arguably culminated in the 1947 partition of India. The subsequent migration of roughly 14.5 million people and the death of an estimated one million individuals during the partition created a legacy of communal trauma that continues to influence contemporary tensions.
Post-independence, religious violence has often been sparked by economic rivalries, political opportunism, and ideological clashes. For instance, the 1961 Jabalpur riots were linked to the emergence of a successful class of Muslim entrepreneurs, while the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi, who had previously ordered an army assault on the Golden Temple. In recent decades, militancy in North-East India has also seen religion used to reinforce ethnic divides, with groups like the National Liberation Front of Tripura targeting Hindu institutions.
International observers, such as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, have raised concerns regarding the treatment of religious minorities, citing the enforcement of anti-conversion laws and violence by hardline groups. While the state maintains a secular framework and utilizes bodies like the National Human Rights Commission to address these issues, the persistence of riots and targeted attacks suggests that the underlying causes—ranging from historical grievances to modern political identity—remain deeply embedded in the nation's social fabric.
Scholars caution against viewing all historical conflicts through a lens of religious violence. Ancient texts like the Divyavadana, which describe persecutions by figures like Ashoka or Pushyamitra, are often dismissed by historians as sectarian propaganda or fictional legends of little historical value. Understanding India's history requires distinguishing between these mythical narratives and the documented, often tragic, realities of communal violence that have shaped the subcontinent since the colonial period.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Religious violence in India
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