Communal harmony simply means living with unity and mutual reciprocity beyond caste, creed, religion, and gender barriers. It strives to create goodwill and peace among various communities. The aim is to encourage the development of an ethic of existence rooted or inspired by religious or cultural values. No other country in the world is as diverse as India. All festivals are celebrated here with equal importance and enthusiasm.
Communalism started with the belief that folks who follow the same religion have common secular interests i.e., common political, economic, social, and cultural interests. Then a concept like this when sought to implement in a multi-religious society like India, the interests of each religion come to be dissimilar and divergent from each other. Finally, people concluded that the interests of the practitioners of different religions were mutually incompatible and hostile while in reality, every religion aims towards peace and unity. No religion teaches violence, injustice, and disrespect. They just have different cultures and traditions which are acceptable to the society, but it is the people of various religions trying to consider themselves as superior to another religion.
These are various causes of such disruption in different communities. If we turn back the pages of history books, it is found that during the Mughal rule, many of the Mughals tortured Hindus and tried to suppress them. And so, people started looking at Islam as the most violent religion. But, on the other hand, there were many Muslims who were courteous and cared for humanity. Some also supported Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his work of forming the Swarajya. A letter said to have been addressed by Emperor Aurangzeb by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj where he was reported to have said, “Hinduism and Islam are both beautiful manifestations of the divine spirit. The call for the prayers is given within the mosque; the bells ring to the divine glory within the temples.
Later, the British’s “Divide and Rule” policy also contributed to widening the gap between the communities. The British had a clear idea that if the citizens were united, they would never be able to rule over this huge nation. Hence, they began to create differences among the two largest groups (the Hindu and the Muslims) which later, led to the partition of this country. Pakistan… was formed and all the Muslims were believed to relocate themselves in Pakistan. However, a huge number of Muslims continued staying in Hindustan as they believed that this is their motherland.
In order to bring about a change in Society, communal harmony is very important. Every person should start thinking with a different mindset. Not every Muslim is a terrorist, nor every Hindu is a good person. There always are going to be differences in the ways that people practice different cultures or worship different gods. After all, it is all about tolerating these differences. No one wants to harm another person, everyone wants to live peacefully, then why not keep aside the differences and emphasize the similarities that we share? People need to realize that standing united is going to change society in a very positive way. India was always built on the foundation of “Unity in Diversity”.
India is a secular, socialistic, and democratic republic and the constitution forbids any kind of discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or religion… A heavy responsibility also falls on the politicians and religious leaders. They should stop creating communal disharmony for vote bank politics. The press is one of the biggest mediums to create awareness among the locals. Media has a huge power to influence people and they should use it in a proper way. The government itself has taken initiatives for maintaining peace and harmony The National Integration Council as well as the National Foundation for Communal Harmony was setup. But they lacked the ability to promote such organizations among the common people. The main center of focus in promoting communal harmony should be the rural areas i.e., villages and small towns. We need to create awareness in those areas as people are not well educated and the outside world is still foreign to them. Celebrating every festival with the same zest is going to build a bond between all the communities. A basic thing that every one of us can do is treat everyone like a human.”
Communalism is one of the obstacles in the development of our country, India is known for its unity and diversity, and it is our responsibility to maintain the legacy through promoting communal harmony. It is also the duty of parents and schools to teach the basic principle of religion to their children. The right to freedom of religion protects us but at the same time, we should be tolerant towards other beliefs. Communal harmony day or Sadhbhavana Diwas is celebrated on 20th August every year in India.
