The greatest threat to India is communalism rather than corruption. Do you agree? Also discuss the measures to be taken to address the issue of communalism.
Communalism, in a broad sense means a strong attachment to one’s own community. In popular discourse in India, it is understood as unhealthy attachment to one’s own religion. It’s an ideology that, in order to unify the community, suppresses distinctions within the community and emphasizes the essential unity of the community against other communities.
Corruption refers to the act of misuse and abuse of power especially by those in the government for personal gains either pecuniary or a favor.
- Corruption is a widespread phenomenon across parties but can be tackled over time as our democracy and its institutions evolve. Indeed, much work has been done in this direction, including the Right to Information (RTI) Act passed in 2005. What will not go away once sown, however, is communalism and hatred for fellow Indians
- Corruption is not the only nor even the greatest danger to the country.
- Communalism is.
- The hatred being spread between communities, including on social media, is.
- The impunity with which lynch mobs have acted in the last five years is.
- A turn towards Fascism is.
- Over two thousand years ago, Chanakya wrote: “Just as we cannot know when fish swimming in water is drinking it, we cannot know when government officers are appropriating public funds.” Corruption, therefore, has been a long-standing problem – even in glorious ancient India and is not new.
- What broke India into two was the sudden rise of communalism – both Hindu and Muslim communalism – towards the end of the 19th century, leading within a few decades to the Partition of India. Corruption is a creeping crisis, communalism is an exploding crisis.
- When communism raises its ugly head, there won’t be time to react, to save the country from a descent into a pogrom, a genocide, a civil war.
- Democracy can come up with institutions to tackle corruption, it cannot tackle communal hatred, its institutions cannot survive Fascism.