Arup Saikia
(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)
Focusing solely on one’s own communities and having no respect for others is the root of communalism. Communalism from ancient times to the present day in Bharat comes through various stages.
ANCIENT PERIOD:
The people of ancient Bharat practised only Hinduism in different forms. The divisive policy of classification and, thereby, of ruling people is an inherent habit or tactic of the intelligentsias or rulers. Whatever the reason may be, Vedic scriptures denote the strict division of society on a profession or caste basis. Communalism, as people generally believe, is not a matter of religion in a mono-religious society. Casteism also created a multi-religious type of country. It antagonizes people with each other among their own religions about what actually happened in greater Bharat. A section of oppressed or so-called lower caste Hindu communities have been starting to convert to other faiths. This is for social emancipation since the rise of other options like Buddhism, etc.
As history says, emperor Ashoka (268–232 BC) of the Maurya Empire officially declared his kingdom as religiously liberal. Secularism is a western term. Emperor Ashoka implemented a policy of respecting all religions equally, like Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Later Indian sociologists or religious preachers considered Lord Buddha to be the incarnation of Hinduism. Jainism is also included as one of many branches of Hinduism. That’s a different matter. But these above-mentioned concepts are the initial social policy of a state to govern from an ancient to a modern perspective.
PRE-MEDIAEVAL PERIOD (100–1000 AD): Greater Bharat spanned to Afghanistan was running without much religious difference. Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, or Hinduism prevailed in Afghanistan. After the arrival of Islam in the middle of the 7th century through Arabian warlords, feelings of alienation towards other religions aroused among Bharatiyas. Mohmmad bin Qasim, a young Muslim general, occupied Sindh province in the later part of the 7th century. On the other hand, Islam spread in the coastal areas of Malabar and Gujarat through Arabian traders. Contrary to Hinduism, Islam was strictly monotheistic. But the people of both religions peacefully coexisted in coastal areas.
Mediaeval Period (post1000 AD): The first Islamic empire in present-day Bharat established by Muhammad Ghor in 1175. From this period onwards, under the aegis of Islamic state machinery (including Mughal), conversion by various tactics started in Bharat. Many Hindus and Sikhs are persecuted and tortured. Hundreds of non-Islamic religious shrines were demolished. Notwithstanding, undivided British colonial Bharat remained a Hindu-majority country.
MUSLIM LEAGUE & ASSAM: To start with, the Hindus and Muslims in Bharat fought for independence unitedly. On December 30, 1906, the all-India Muslim League was formed in Dhaka under the guidance of Khwaja Salimullah. Naturally or tactically, the Muslim League frequently tarnished Bharatiya freedom struggles with a hue of communalism.
The barbaric communal riot during 1946 in Calcutta for the establishment of Pakistan shocked the nation, including neighbouring state Assam. On the other hand, the cabinet mission arbitrarily added Assam to Group C to merge with the predominantly Muslim population of Bengal on May 16, 1946. It’s noteworthy to say undivided Bharat’s locations were classified into three groups, namely A, B, and C. The groups would join either Pakistan or India, depending on religion and what the majority practices.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah always had a greedy eye on Assam. The inclusion of Assam in the Muslim-populated eastern part of India was their old plan. Syed Sadullah was Prime Minister (present Chief Minister) of Assam from April 1, 1937. His political outfit, the Assam Valley Party, enjoyed power with the support of the United Muslim Party. Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi smelled their conspiracy and exposed it to the people of Assam. The government of Sadullah was toppled on February 11, 1946. Gopinath Bordoloi snatched the chair of Chief Minister (then it was called Prime Minister) from Sadullah. Finally, Mahatma Gandhi rightly paid heed to the appeal of Bordoloi. The plan for the cabinet mission was aborted. Assam was excluded from Group C at the last moment and exempted from being part of East Pakistan. The Islamization of Assam was a long-term conspiracy of the Muslim League led by Sadullah. They encouraged Muslims for more and more immigration into the uncultivated government lands of Assam. The apparent motto was “Grow more crops”. But the hidden agenda is to change demography in the League’s favor.
Although Gopinath Bordoloi succeeded in passing the resolution against grouping, it was not an easy task. Although the Congress-led Bordoloi government had a majority in the House, it was a coalition government. The Congress had the support of many tribal members. Prime Minister Bordoloi had to burn midnight’s oil to persuade or gain the support of tribal leaders for the thumping majority (which may be two thirds). But a few tribal members, led by Bhimbar Deuri, earlier conveyed their opposition to the proposal of Jinnah. Then the Assam Assembly had 108 members. The Congress had 58 (the number is little disputed) seats. The Muslim League, or Muslims, had a total of 34 seats. The other seats were reserved for Europeans, tea tribes, plain tribes, and scheduled castes. Long-heated arguments had been exchanged between pro- and anti-grouping. The Congress could sail the boat easily with an absolute majority. Anyway, Sadullah emerged as a villain in the realpolitik of grouping. The Muslim League later boycotted the House, demanding the division of the country after the repeal of the grouping proposal. Syed Sadullah painfully remained seated during partition proceedings and tasted defeat. But Sadullah didn’t migrate to Pakistan with his league partners after independence.
After the formation of East Pakistan, their wicked policy was not abnegated at all. To stab in the back, the Pakistanis resorted to the policy of illegal infiltration through a porous border. The prominent member of the constituent assembly, Rohini Choudhary, raised the issue in Delhi. He therefore urged us not to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants. The Parliament finally passed a bill, the immigration expulsion law (Assam). Assam is the Kashmir of the East for the Pakistani government. At present, Bangladesh is also nursing a vicious intention to outnumber native Assamese through illegal immigration.
Illegal infiltration is a very delicate and sentimental issue in Assam politics. The student leaders also twice formed a government sitting on the lap of the Assam accord. In one word, the Assam accord is a deal of Bangladeshi deportation signed on August 15, 1985, between the Assam Students Union and the Central Government. The present right-wing (NDA) Central Government passed the “citizenship amendment act” to accept Hindu Bangladeshis as refugees to increase the Hindu population. Lots of protests and controversy erupted against or in support of the bill. Governments are changing, new generations are growing, but the indigenous people of Assam are yet to eat the fruit of the Assam Accord or the sealing of the border. Really, communalism is a menace for the whole world.