Page 78 - Non-violence and peace-building

Reflections on Communal Riots

entire issue and completely revise our approach and
methods.
In most cases, communal riots in India are triggered
off over very minor issues. That a small matter can
rapidly lead to a horrific communal riot is not a chance
occurrence. There are historical and psychological causes
and factors behind this. Whether we accept it or not,
the fact is that many people from other communities
perceive Muslims as their enemies. One reason for this
is the memory of the Partition of India. The Partition
was in itself enough to provoke and inflame our fellow
countrymen. And, more than this, the Partition was
engineered in such a way that it left many delicate
problems unresolved.

There are numerous other historical factors that have
made many of our fellow countrymen see Muslims as
their enemies and develop negative feelings about
them. It is like an enormous amount of lava bottled up
inside a volcano. The volcano can burst at any moment,
bringing in its wake tremendous destruction.
I do accept that someone can, on reasonable
grounds, claim that the demand for the Partition of
India was, in part, a reaction to the attitude of others.
But the question is: What is the practical use or benefit
of making this claim? This sort of claim may be useful
only if the aim is to make a logical or academic analysis
of a problem. But it has nothing to do with real-life
affairs. When an issue becomes one of life and death,
an intelligent person does not think of logical analyses
and arguments. Instead, he focuses on the practical
aspects of the issue before him, so that he can decide

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