Religion, communalism and politics Let us now turn to a very different kind of social division, the division based on religious differences. This division is not as universal as gender, but religious diversity is fairly widespread in the world today. Many countries including India have in their population, followers of different religions. As we noticed in the case of Northern Ireland, even when most of the people belong to the same religion, there can be serious differences about the way people practice that religion.
Unlike gender differences, the religious differences are often expressed in the field of politics. Consider the following: Gandhiji used to say that religion can never be separated from politics. What he meant by religion was not any particular religion like Hinduism or Islam but moral values that inform all religions. He believed that politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion.
Human rights groups in our country have demanded that the Government should take special steps to prevent communal riots and protect religious minorities. Women’s movement has argued that family laws of all religions discriminate against women. So they have demanded that government should change these laws to make them more equitable. All these instances involve a relationship between religion I am not religious.
Why should I bother about communalism and secularism? and politics. But they do not seem very wrong or dangerous. Ideas, ideals and values drawn from different religions can and perhaps should play a role in politics.
People should be able to express in politics their needs, interests and demands as a member of a religious community. Those who hold political power should sometimes be able to regulate the practice of religion so as to prevent discrimination and oppression. These political acts are not wrong as long as they treat every religion equally. Communalism The problem begins when religion is seen as the basis of the nation.
The example of Northern Ireland in Chapter shows the dangers of such an approach to nationalism. The problem becomes more acute when religion is expressed in politics in exclusive and partisan