Page 68 - Non-violence and peace-building

The Solution to Communal Conflict

helpful. If you know what keeps a certain locality free
from such violence, you can draw lessons which you can
apply to other localities that are prone to such violence.
In this regard, it is instructive to reflect on the
difference between North and South India in terms of
inter-communal relations. The basis of this fundamental
difference lies in the fact that it was mainly in the north
that politics based on the so-called ‘two-nation’ theory
gained a firm foothold, while the south remained free
from this sort of divisive politics to a large extent. As a
result, an atmosphere of inter-communal rivalry prevails
in much of the north, unlike in much of the south.

Similarly, there is a fundamental difference between
Old Aligarh and the Civil Lines area. Many people in
Old Aligarh are uneducated, in contrast to the Civil
Lines area. Likewise, many of the denizens of Old
Hyderabad are poor, unlike in the newer parts of the
city.
From this sort of comparative study one can gauge
under what conditions inter-communal violence
generally breaks out, and also under what conditions
such violence remains absent. The method to end inter-
communal violence, then, would be to try to create in
North India conditions that prevail in large parts of
South India that have remained free of inter-communal
conflict. Likewise, in the old parts of towns like Aligarh
and Hyderabad, efforts should be made to replicate
the conditions or factors that prevail in the new parts
of these cities that keep them free from communal
violence—for instance, better education and economic
development among Muslims. These conditions are

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