Articles

Introduction

History has shown that whenever there is religious revivalism or fundamentalism, there is at the same time an assault on women's freedom and identity. Thus the most evident distinctions between communities are reflected not merely in how they worship and what they hold sacred, but in how they define the status and conduct of their women. The Personal Laws are the most obvious example - that of a patriachal state compromising with religious fundamentalists to keep women dependent and in bondage. They are but an extension of the patriachy that women suffer in the home, on the street and at the workplace. That is why for most women thinkers and feminists religion is a hierarchical, authoritarian and male-dominated institution.

With communalism, women are doubly victimised. First as women and again as members of a community. For women, there is no private-public divide; the personal is political. The personal and public are interconnected and the link is best seen during communal violence. Like men, women suffer in communal violence as members of an attacked conmunity, but they also suffer as women. Rape, abduction, molestation, are commonly used by men to bring disgrace and dishonour to the 'enemy' community.

Communalism is opposed to the liberation of women. It views the function of women as merely as that of bearing children and caring for the home. It discourages them from taking employment or participating in social life on an equal basis with men. It rationalises atrocities on women. Struggles for social change and women's equality have always recognised religious fundamentalism as being inimical to women's rights. At one level, all religion based fundamentalism have acted as a common denominator for the suppression if not the destruction of women's identity as independent citizens with equal rights.

Communalism Defined

There are two components of almost every religious tradition - one, institutionalised authority, priesthood and everyday rituals, and two, deeper philosophy and spiritual quest. While the former is considered dogmatic and exclusivist, the latter is considered harmonic and dialogic. In everyday life religion is often experienced through its outward forms, symbols and rituals. For most people, religion is spirituality. But religion has an "emotional" content which can act as a catalyst for believers becoming communal. Communalism, according to K.N.Panikkar has two dimensions: as a state of consciousness and an instrument of power. Being religious by itself does not mean being communal; but in situations of crisis or of manipulation, religion can be transformed into creating communal consciousness. Religious consciousness, when it leads to communal consciousness, gives one the feeling that one's religion is superior to another. This leads to rivalry and competition between religious groups.

We must distinguish between those who commit crimes in the name of religion and those who belong to a community that wishes to live in peace and harmony with other religions. Pannikar lists four sections of people in Indian society. Those who are communally convinced. They are the ones who belong to right wing parties and fundamentalist organisations and who spearhead communal violence and riots. Then there are the communally mobilised; people whom the commnally convinced can influence and bring into their fold since they have over the years internalised the arguments and propanda of the latter. The third section is the non-communal ; those who are not yet swayed by communalism. The fourth section are the secularists who are anti-communal and anti-fundamentalist.

Causes of Communalism

How are the above mentioned categories of people created? Communalism is considered as a product of (a) crisis of modern, capitalist society. Modern capitalist society fosters collective identity crises which in turn promote identity politics based on notions of culture, biology, religion, caste, etc. Thus what lies behind the communal appeal is the identity crises of the urban middle class undergoing modernization and partial westernization that has made them receptive to such appeals. Communalism is a product of (b) manipulation. It is ruling-class politics. It has deep connections between class and power relations. Recently, the economic and political empowerment of certain lower castes and communities in the wake of globilisation, in both rural and urban areas, has led to economic tensions with the dominant upper classes in their quest for control of resources. The traditional, ruling classes so threatened use communalism and fundamentalism to mobilise people of one community "to defend religion" from other communities and the secular state. Their aim is not just electoral power but power which is linked with history, culture and the notion of permanent capture of the state.

The Asian subcontinent over the last few decades, has seen a revival of religious and ethnic chauvinism. There has been the increased militarisation of religion. These chauvinists have not hesistated in the use of arms and terrorists attacks to exercise political power. Some of them have come to power with the people's mandate. In India, the steady and slow rise of the organised Hindutva since 1950, that is the Sangh Parivar (consisting of the RSS, BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal, etc) has led to organised Hindu majority communalism. Side by side there has been the rise of minority communalism among Muslims, Sikhs and Christians who have floated fundamentalist organisations too.

Indian Women and Communalism

In the women's movement there has been an uncertainity on how best to cope with communalism. On one hand, women have been the worst sufferers of communalism, especially during communal riots. On the other, an increasing number of women have got communally mobilised and internalised the slogans of the communal forces. They have participated in communal campaigns and propaganda aimed at denigrating other religious communities. Take for example, the sight of women among the hordes of kar sevaks in the communal mayhem that followed the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992, or the sight of women passing stones to their brothers in the communal mayhem following Godra. Then there are the Uma Bharatis, Sadhvi Ritambharas and Vijayaraje Scindias who have in the past spouted ominous and blood-thirsty words against their country men and women of other communities. There are women who have been in seats of government and who have fiddled while their sisters burned in comunal violence. What of sisterhood?

Indian women on the whole have been willing to endorse traditional patriarchal conceptions of the family or religiously sanctioned ideals of male-female relationships. For women belonging to the minority religions, the onslaught of Hindu communalism has promoted a retreat into their respective religious identity politics with a willingness to submit to oppressive religious codes of behaviour and dress. The fundamentalism of Hindutva has created a feeling of insecurity among minority communities and has had a negative impact on the struggle for reform within minority communities. During every communal riot, rape laws, property laws and other human rights that the women's movement have fought for, have become non-existant. And after every riot has been quelled, the women's movement have gone back to their daily issues of patriachy in the home, sexual stereotypes in the mass media and how women should regain control over their bodies. The fundamentalists however continue with their daily propaganda of teaching women to hate women of other communities and to translate that hate into militaristic action. Religious symbols, rituals and the media are all used to do so.

It is time to ask, how come the fundamentalists with all their backwards views about women's inequality and behaviour codes have been winning more and more women to their cause? On the other hand, how come the women's movement with their secular outlook and progressive views of equality has not been able to break the stranglehood of these fundamentalists. Why have they had to watch helplessly while women have participated in communal riots? One explanation is that the women's movement has still not been very clear on the concept of "secularism" and how it would mean better civil and political rights for women. A growing number of women activists are now more prepared to cite new virtues in religon and to reject western-inspired notions of secularism for what they think to be more indigenously rooted, cultural traditions. Theirs is a desire to be 'in tune' with the majority who have a strong religious sensibility at the cost of reviving out-dated obscurantist religious traditions. Many women activists have given up the cause for a uniform civil code and opted for reform in Personal Laws. This excessive dependence on legalism, on state intervention through legislation to change the equation between man and woman relationships has not helped. For it is the same secular state that has actively strengthened and appeased the fundamentalists forces from time to time. Through the use of the courts (Shah Bano Case) and the media (Doordarshan), the Indian secular state has allowed the fundamentalists to reinforce age old, anti-women traditions and spew their communal poison far and wide. Examples are, the revival of Sati in Rajasthan, witch-hunting in Bihar and dowry practices in South India.

METHODOLOGY

In the background of the resurgence of communalism and its effects on Indian women mentioned above, this researcher plans to conduct an empirical survey of contemporary communalism consciousness of women and communal politics in Pune city. An interview-questionnaire will be designed. A random sample of 300 women belonging to different castes, communities, age-groups, classes and educational qualifications will be taken. This questionnaire will seek to cover among others, the following questions:

* How many women today belong to the categories of communally convinced, communally mobilised, non-communal and secular;
* What are the perceptions, prejudices, stereotypes and myths of women of one community about those of the other communities;
* What is the co-relation between education, class and occupation with religiosity and communal consciousness;
* How much resistance and consent is there among Pune's women to the communal politics of fundamentalists and political parties;
* What are women's opinions about the breaking of the Babri Masjid, the rape of women in Godra and parading naked of witches in Bihar;
* If asked to choose between investment in jobs,drinking water and education, and investment in building places of worship, what would women choose.

Although the occurence or non-occurence of communal riots is not the sole yardstick for the prevalence of communal consciousness, it must be noted that Pune city boasts of having had no communal riot for the last one decade. While Mumbai burnt in 1992 and Gujarat in 2002, there was communal peace in Pune city. Much of this has been attributed to the fact that Pune city has been expanding with a largely new, migrant population. Socio-economic and political tensions have still not come to a head for communal forces to exploit. This research study also seeks to find out :

* Are there any cementing or bonding factors that keep the communal peace especially during festivals;
* How effective have the women's movement and the mainstream political parties been in maintaining communal harmony;
* What citizen's iniatives have been taken when there has been communal tension in other areas in the country.

Thus this study, besides exploring the underlying communal consciousness among Pune's women, will look for potential if any for anti-communal action and social harmony. It will also interview mohalla committees, feminists, religious reformists and social activists in each community to devise a strategy for communal conflict resolution which could have a relevance on an all-India level.

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