PEACE IN PLURAL SOCIETIES

After a long struggle, in August 1947 the Indian subcontinent won independence from the British. This independence came along with the Partition, which was on the basis of ‘two nation theory’. It led to the partition, not just of territory, but of entire communities as well. 

Prior to the Partition, the conflict was between two communities that lacked political power. With the Partition, it now became a conflict between two sovereign countries.

Mahatma Gandhi had, from the very first day, perceived how sensitive this situation was. And so, he stressed that Hindus and Muslims should learn to live together in peace and harmony. He said that he would give up his life in order that this should happen. However, shortly after India became independent, he was shot dead. This was undoubtedly a very big tragedy. Because of this, India lost its tallest leader who was committed to peace and unity.

The Partition was accompanied by horrific communal violence on both sides of the newly-created border. This violence continued unabated for many years thereafter. In order to address the issue, the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, called a national-level conference in New Delhi in October 1961. At this conference, it was unanimously decided to set up the National Integration Council to deal with matters related to communal harmony.

The second conference of this Council was held in June 1962. Speakers delivered their speeches on the occasion, suggesting various measures to promote communal harmony. Yet, no action was taken on their suggestions. Moreover, no more meetings of the Council were held during the rest of Jawaharlal Nehru’s life.

The third meeting of the Council was called by Indira Gandhi inSrinagar in 1968. It called for making it a cognizable offence on the grounds of promoting hatred between communities. Some other steps were also mooted. A few laws and rules were also passed. But still, nothing practical came out of this. And so, even today, the situation in the country is about the same as it was in 1947 as far as the issue of communalism is concerned.

What was the reason for this failure? The basic reason is that thisissue of communal conflict has been treated simply as a law and order problem. However, the nature of the issue is actually quite different. It is not essentially a law and order problem. Rather, it has essentially to do with the lack of intellectual development and social awareness.

To solve the problem, what is basically required is to properly educate people and promote proper thinking and discernment. People should know what to do and what to abstain from. They should learn to think before acting. Only this sort of an 'aware' society is one where communal harmony can flourish.