♤ Extremist Phase:

o Post 1937, India witnessed extreme communalism based on the politics of fear, psychosis and irrationality. During this phase, the interests of Hindus and Muslims were deemed to be permanently in conflict.

o Communalism acquired a popular base among urban lower middle class groups and mass movements around aggressive, extremist communal politics emerged.

o Communalism also became the only political recourse of colonial authorities and their policy of divide and rule.

o During the period, M.A. Jinnah declared that ‘Muslims should organize themselves, stand united and should press every reasonable point for the protection of their community.’ He eventually stated that Muslims would be suppressed under the Hindu dominated Congress after the British left India and thus, the only recourse would be a separate state for Muslims i.e. creation of Pakistan.

o Hindu communalism too did not lag behind. The Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), began propagating extreme communalism. They demanded that the non-Hindu groups of India adopt the Hindu culture and language and hold Hindu religion in reverence. They too espoused that Hindus and Muslims are two separate social and political entities with opposing interests.

Consequences of Communalism: The manifestations of communal killings and disturbances resulted in Calcutta killings (1946) in which thousands lost their lives within a span of five days, butchery of Hindus at Naokhali in Bengal and Muslims in Bihar, the carnage of partition riots in various parts of India and the assassination of Gandhiji by a Hindu fanatic. Communalism also resulted in the division of India and creation of Pakistan.