Communal riots in India were reported even during the Pre-1947 era. Only some were against the British. Looks for riots in 1927 Nagpur, 1939 Manzilgarh, etc. these were huge for their time and very poorly covered by Indian historians and political scientists.
there hasn’t been a time when INDIA was NOT communal. Yes now communalism is a product that is traded for votes. It is manufactured and implemented in targeted areas.
Riots give you a very public indicator of levels of communalism but think of other non-public ways in which India was communal. Eg, untouchability practice. Communalism doesn’t exist only when there are riots. It is a practice and a mindset as well.
If I start cataloguing undivided India’s riots, the list will increase drastically. And remember there is a huge reporting issue before media picked up. Even between 1947 and 1980s there were riots in India.
We need a proper explanation of our history which does not hide what happened in the past. Sadly, I do find fault with our historians, who while brilliant and amazing, DID push some of this stuff under the carpet. It’s time we corrected all of that.
Part of the reason the RSS was formed was because of Nagpur’s history of religious riots in a very short period. The entire right wing has taken over and expanded this history with its own embellishments to justify what it does today.
We need to take back control .
We need to take back control .
