Communal Riots in India: Social, Political and Economic Aspects

The challenge of communalism in India, is the biggest internal challenge, not only to the working and stability of our domestic, secular system but also to the basic principles governing our national life . Today, India is celebrating seventy two years of independence, but still ugly forces of religious fundamentalism and rapid communalism have been raising their heads to such an extent that the unity and togetherness are at the edge of break. Communalism, needless to say, is a highly complex phenomenon like any other social phenomenon. .Communal consciousness in India has not developed overnight. It's roots are deep. The character of inter-ethnic relations between Hindus and Muslims have been influenced by various socio-historical factors. In order to understand the present dimension of communalism, a brief overview of such factors become imperative. We begin herewith the study of communal history of India, but our main emphasis will be to highlight religious, social, political and economic causes, which contributed to the development of communal consciousness between the two major communities in pre and post-independence.