Q1. [3] medium thorough-understanding
Communalism can exist in politics even without any communal riots or violence. Explain any two forms in which communalism commonly appears in everyday political life.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:17 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Communalism can appear in politics in the following forms:
- Communal prejudices and stereotypes: The most common form is everyday beliefs involving religious prejudices, stereotypes about other communities, and the belief in the superiority of one's own religion. This is so common that we often fail to notice it.
- Political mobilisation on religious lines: This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeals and fear to unite followers of one religion in the political arena. In elections, this means making special appeals to voters of one religion over others.
Source: Religion, Communalism and Politics, Chapter 3
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Explanation
- The question asks for two forms from the broader list in the textbook. The four forms given are: (i) everyday prejudices, (ii) quest for political dominance, (iii) religious mobilisation in politics, (iv) communal violence. Since the question specifies "without riots or violence," avoid the fourth form.
- Write each form with a bold heading + 1–2 lines of explanation to score full marks. Examiners look for correct identification + brief elaboration.
- The phrase "communalism can exist without riots" is the key framing — it signals you must focus on the subtle, non-violent forms.