The ideology of communalism in India was, and still is, that the different communities in India cannot co-exist to their mutual benefit, that the minorities will become victims of Hindu subjugation and that the neither historically created situation nor culture will allow cooperation.

Communalism took deep roots in Indian polity during the later phase of the national movement and this was encouraged by the colonial rulers. This process was a continuation of the weakness and inadequacy of secularism as conceived and practiced during the ant colonial struggle.

Implicit in all the theories has been the assumption that the growth of Hindu-Muslim tension was not the natural and inevitable outcome of changes taking place in the Indian society. Partition was the culmination of the conflict which could and should have been avoided. Further this line of reasoning states that nation building essentially means obliteration of communal moulds and creation of a common identity which decries the existence of differentiated groups based on religion, caste or language.

The important point is that these are not isolated acts but often deliberate machinations of various socio-religious organisations. Recurrent collisions were engineered on festivals by stopping them and various religious occasions by interfering in their process.  Again the passing away of Nehru in 1964 and the deteriorating socio-economic circumstances led to the resurrection of communal violence.

Reasons for Communal Riots

These are:

Riots are part of progress in an under developed country. The class struggle is converted into a communal struggle weakening the solidarity of the proletariat class. Further the middle the backward classes have acquired greater political and economic strength and influence and these often assert themselves. Economic conflicts lead to riots as in Bihar Sharif and Bhiwandi.

Electoral politics determine the objectives and direction of communal violence e.g. Delhi 1986.

These explanations cannot be binding-they cannot be held to be necessary and sufficient. Often economic reasons emerge after (not before) the rioting has begun. Again in a developing society economic factors where competitive or one lagging behind the other can lead to a riot. The same applies to reductionist political causes. The idea of behind-the-scene political manipulation may not be valid.

Economic andSocial Dimensions

Regarding gaining economic benefits after the eruption of communal riots we find that in Godhra, Hindu Sindhi refugees from Pakistan gave competition to Hindu merchants. But riots have frequently emerged between Sindhis and Muslims. Again in Punjab while Ramgarhia and other Sikhs have gone beyond the Hindu Khatris in commerce there have been no riots because of this.

Hurt Religious Sentiments.

The causes are flimsy such as playing music before a mosque, insulting the Prophet or the Holy Quran. This is sufficient to provoke violence among some of the Muslims. So also disturbing by Muslims of a religious yatra is enough to rouse Hindu ire.

Lastly in the Punjab tragedy, the terrorist acts while antagonising the Hindus, are not considered to be the acts of the Sikh community as a whole.

Hindu-Muslim riots in recent times have been confined to medium sized towns and cities. These include areas like Meerut, Aligarh, Moradabad, Pune etc.

The people in a riot tend to be crowd oriented, and the conflict tends to be very violent. These people tend to be merciless. A “cause” is often espoused; for example in 1969 the handbills gave a call for dharma yudha by the Hindu militants. Thus in recent decades from the 60s onward the trend has been for collectively orientation and in-group loyalties. Moreover, the functional independence of caste and community are disintegrating and replaced by competitive patterns. This makes for greater tension in interactions between people let alone communities.

Recent Rise in Communalism

Cow vigilantism

In India, cows are venerated by a large segment of the population. Cow vigilante violence involves mob attacks in the name of "cow protection," targeting mostly Muslims. It has swelled since 2014.

Recently emerged cow vigilante groups have accused some Indian Muslims and Dalits of cattle theft or slaughter. They violence lead to number of deaths.

Rajasthan-A dairy farmer from Haryana was beaten to death by a mob of alleged cow vigilantes. Cow vigilantes stopped and assaulted Tamil Nadu animal husbandry officials transporting Rajasthan‘s native Tharparkar breed. Haryana- 15 year old Muslim boy was stabbed on board train, who allegedly for a beef-eating. Gujarat-Cow vigilantes publicly flogged a Dalit family for skinning a dead cow. A Muslim man died after being assaulted by alleged cow vigilantes for transporting two animals. Maharashtra - Series of cases has been reported from various parts of the state, the state was silent in taking actions against the wrong doers.

Mob Lynching

There has been a recent series of mob lynching, fuelled by rumours circulated through social media.

Across the country, more than 20 people have been lynched due to fake news of child lifting. Moreover, dozens of other attacks on strangers, including on 24 individuals in Odisha alone.

In Tripura, a man sent by the government to stop lynchings was himself lynched by villagers. Mobs are increasingly driven by viral rumours of child-kidnappers. Free messaging service, the Whats App, provided the platform for spreading disinformation.

 What does it imply?

Across the country, lynching and mob vigilantism appear to have got acceptance. This indicates a deep sense of insecurity among so many ordinary Indians. The state‘s security apparatus failed to use the same social media platform to counter the rumours. More than being a law and order issue, the incidents also imply a deeper societal crisis, especially in cases of cow slaughter that emerges from religious intolerance. A sense of "other" is seemed to have gripped the Indian society. There is failure on part of the political establishment to censure such incidents also sends a signal of tolerance towards lynching. It is more pronounced in the case of minorities, tribals and Dalits who are at the receiving end.

What is the government response?

Centre's directive - The Centre has advised states and UTs to take steps in this regard by keeping a watch for early detection of such rumours. Home Affairs Ministry has directed states and UTs to initiate measures to counter them. MEITY - Ministry of Electronics and IT is holding WhatsApp responsible for such incidents. The platform has been advised to take remedial measures to prevent fake message proliferation. It has asked WhatsApp to ensure that their platform is not used for malafide activities.

What are the concerns?

The government response to go after WhatsApp is misplaced. In WhatsApp, messages are said to be encrypted, which makes it impossible for any to intercept. Given this, methods to limit the spread of sensational messages are unclear. Also, such checks would amount to legitimising surveillance and a loss of privacy. Besides, the messaging medium is not the issue with the recent incidents. The government response seems to be an abdication of responsibility.

What does the US experience show?

 In US, the first amendment rejects making any law prohibiting and abridging the freedom of speech. When they had to deal with lynchings in their past, they responded by strengthening the State. They increased policing, bettered law enforcement and invested more in the justice system. What is the way forward? Banning news, internet blackouts and letters to WhatsApp may not address the root cause. Factors such as demonisation of communities - Muslims, tribals, outsiders - should be addressed. Stringent condemnation, and timely prosecuting of the perpetrators are essential. Political messaging and administrative alerts are key to stopping the string of lynchings.

Bringing Communal Harmony

• preventive steps
• Facilitating intercommunity interaction.
• A platform for solving misunderstanding or small matters.
• separating religion from politics
• Through electoral reforms.
• Making suitable security arrangements in the sensitive areas.
• Carrying propaganda for communal harmony.           
• curative measures
• Preventing looting in the riot hit areas.
• Strong action against miscreants.     
• Constitutional law

Prevention ofCommunal andTargeted Violence (Access toJustice andReparations) Bill, 2011

Key Provisions:

Defining communal and targeted violence: The provisions of this Bill will apply only when it is first established that the offence was 'targeted' in nature. Offences under the Indian Penal Code shall be considered offences under this bill when they meet the definition of 'targeted'.

Dereliction of duty by public servants: The bill recognizes offences of both omission and commission. Public servants who act or omit to exercise authority vested in them under law and fail to protect or prevent offences or act with malafide and prejudice shall be guilty of dereliction of duty with penal consequences.

Breach of command responsibility: The bill seeks to ensure that the power of holding command over the actions of others is indeed upheld as a sacred duty, and that there is culpability for those who are 'effectively in-charge'. The chain of command responsibility may extend to any level where effective decisions to act or not act are taken.

Sanction for prosecution of public servants: The bill proposes that if there is no response to a request for sanction for prosecution within 30 days from the date of the application to the concerned government, sanction to prosecute will be deemed granted. In relation to certain offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, when committed by a public servant, the requirement of obtaining sanction is being dispensed with.

Monitoring and accountability: Monitoring and grievance redressal shall be the responsibility of the National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation (NACHJR) and corresponding State Authorities for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparations (SACHJR).

The monitoring mechanism of national and state authorities will also provide the 'paper trail' to ensure robust accountability of public officials in a court of law.

Composition of the NACHJR: The bill proposes that NACHJR will have seven members of which four must belong either to a linguistic minority or religious minority in any state or to the SCs or STs. No more than two members of the NACHJR may be retired public servants.

Offences of communal and targeted violence: The Indian Penal Code (IPC) contains most offences committed during episodes of communal and targeted violence. These have been appended in a schedule to the bill and shall be considered offences when they meet the threshold of being 'knowingly directed against any person by virtue of membership of a group'.

The brutal forms of sexual assault (beyond the limited IPC definition of rape) and torture have been included in the bill. Additionally, it defines hate propaganda.