Communal Egos and Inter-Community Conflict

In this regard, it is instructive to reflect on the difference between North and South India in terms of inter-communal relations. The basis of this fundamental difference lies in the fact that it was mainly in the north that politics based on the so-called ‘two-nation’ theory gained a firm foothold, while the south remained free from this sort of divisive politics to a large extent. As a result, an atmosphere of inter-communal rivalry prevails in much of the north, unlike in much of the south. Similarly, there is a fundamental difference between Old Aligarh and the Civil Lines area. Many people in Old Aligarh are uneducated, in contrast to the Civil Lines area. Likewise, many of the denizens of Old Hyderabad are poor, unlike in the newer parts of the city. From this sort of comparative study one can gauge under what conditions inter-communal violence generally breaks out, and also under what conditions such violence remains absent. The method to end inter-communal violence, then, would be to try to create in North India conditions that prevail in large parts of South India that have remained free of inter-communal conflict. Likewise, in the old parts of towns like Aligarh and Hyderabad, efforts should be made to replicate the conditions or factors that prevail in the new parts of these cities that keep them free from communal violence—for instance, better education and economic development among Muslims. These conditions are what have kept some parts of the country free from inter-communal violence, and if replicated elsewhere, they can help put an end to such violence there, too. In this regard, one must also add that Muslims must put an end to all those factors that engender an atmosphere of conflict between them and others—such as for instance, demanding their rights, engaging the politics of protest, raking up disputes over mosques and temples, and so on. The fact of the matter is that to end inter-communal violence in India we do not have to search for a new solution. All we need to do is replicate those