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Difference between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism for UPSC!

Last Updated on Oct 30, 2022
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Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism are three different types of political ideologies. Each one of these ideologies differ in terms of their application, expression, place in society and its effect in society.

Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism, all three of these play a vital role in the development of any society with diverse nature as India.

Difference between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism is an important topic for UPSC IAS Examination. It falls under the society section of the General Studies Paper 1 syllabus for the UPSC Mains examination.

In this article on Difference between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism, we shall discuss the differences between each of these political ideologies.

Also, check out this article on Difference between Marxim and Communism for the UPSC Exam!

Difference between Communalism Regionalism and Secularism

Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism as political ideologies differs in regards to various factors such as their origin, ideology, effects in society etc. Various differences between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism are listed below.

Difference between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism
Factor Communalism Regionalism Secularism
Origin Murray Bookchin coined this term in early 20th century Concept developed by ancient empires through their imperialistic practices. George Holyoake coined this term in mid 19th century
Ideology Favours a specific community or religion. Favours a single region Neutral to all communities and religions
Positive Effects Social and economic upliftment of his/her own community Promotes taking pride in one’s culture and roots, which sometimes helps in spreading the culture in other regions too. No discrimination on the basis of religion allows complete growth of a society.
Negative Effects Causes competition,tensions and suspicious views about other communities Threatens national integrity, discourages setting up of development projects in their region. Does not allow expression of religious belief in public life.
Solutions to contain Making a balance between different communities in terms of favouring their demands. Uniform economic and social development of all regions and providing equal opportunity to do work, business etc in every part of the country. Following positive secularism which supports every religion equally, rather than no support to any religions.
Examples in India Riots during partition of India in 1947, Anti-Sikh riots in 1984, Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. Separatism movements in Nagaland since 1950s, attacks on north indian migrants in Maharashtra in 2008. Multiple provisions of no discrimination on the basis of religion provided in Indian constitution, declaration of secularism as basic structure of constitution by Supreme Court.

Also, check out this article on 16 point agreement and the Naga Insurgency!

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Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism: Overview

Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism – all three political ideologies and philosophies develop a society. All three have different types and dimensions on the basis of implementation, geographies and ethnicities.

Balancing a diverse set of demands in multicultural and multireligious societies has always been a challenge to deal with.

What is Secularism?

Secularism is the political ideology which believes in separation of religion and polity. Under a secularism ideology, discrimination on the basis of religion is not permitted and equal opportunities for social and economic development is provided by the state.

Secularism is implemented in both positive and negative ways. Positive secularism differs from negative secularism as:

  • Positive secularism allows the state to support each religion equally whereas negative secularism does not allow any religious interference or support in the polity of a state.
  • Positive secularism draws inspiration and ideals from religious philosophies whereas negative secularism does not promote any philosophy related to religion.
  • Indian secularism is described as positive secularism whereas western concept of secularism is described as a negative form of secularism.

Read this detailed article on Difference between Western Secularism and Indian Secularism.

What is Communalism?

Communalism is a political theory where a strong sense of loyalty to one particular community prevails. Communal politics talks about interests of only one community, rather than society as a whole.

Communalism in a society play out in different dimensions such as:

  • Assimilation – racial and social integration of smaller religious groups is advocated.
  • Welfarism – working for the welfare of one’s own community.
  • Retreatism- abstaining of a community from mainstream politics.
  • Separatism- demanding separate identity and policies for one community.
  • Secessionism – demanding separate state for a community.

What is Regionalism?

Regionalism, as a political philosophy, seeks to take forward the issues of their region and prioritize one particular region for welfare and development policies. Regionalism plays out from a village level to international level, where everyone identifies himself / herself with their village, city, state, region or country.

Regionalism has both positive and negative effects in society. It promotes the idea of taking pride in their own distinctive culture and spreading it to other parts of the world. This eventually helps in better national integration and people to people connect. On the negative front, regionalism sometimes supports secessionist movements, ingrains hatred for people from other regions which disintegrates the society as a whole.

In Indian context, there are three main types of regionalism:

  • Supra state regionalism –
    • This considers a group of states as a region and puts forward a common agenda for the whole region.
    • Example- Dravid states, North east states.
  • Inter state regionalism –
    • Various states compete in such regionalism for putting their own region at forefront.
    • Example- river disputes between various states, border dispute between Assam and various other northeastern states.
  • Intra state regionalism –
    • In this type of regionalis, different regions within a state stand up to fight for better development, more autonomy or self identity.
    • Example – Establishment of separate development board for Hyderabad – Karnataka region in Karnataka state under article 371 J of Indian constitution, demand for separate mithila state from Bihar.

सांप्रदायिकता, क्षेत्रवाद और धर्मनिरपेक्षता में अंतर : यूपीएससी के लिए महत्वपूर्ण विश्व इतिहास नोट्स पढ़ें!

Conclusion

Communalism , Regionalism and Secularism are important political philosophies which work out in the development of any society and more so, for a diverse nation like India. The integrity of a state is best taken care of when all different philosophies are taken forward in a positive manner while working for the welfare of every community, region and citizen.

We hope that all your doubts regarding the topic difference between communalism, regionalism and secularism have been addressed after going through this article. Testbook offers a standard quality of study material for various competitive exams. Download the Testbook App now and be successful in your UPSC preparations.

UPSC Previous Year Questions on Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism

Q 1. Are tolerance, assimilation and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism? Justify your answer. [UPSC Mains 2022]

Q 2. Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural assertiveness? Argue. [UPSC Mains 2020]

Q 3.How the Indian concept of secularism is different from the western model of secularism? Discuss. [UPSC Mains 2018]

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Difference between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism FAQs

Secularism promotes separation of religion and state whereas communalism follows strong attachment to one’s own community and religion.

Communalism is a political philosophy that favours a strong loyalty to the interests of one’s own community rather than to society as a whole.

India’s secularism is of positive type where it does not separate religion and state, rather it provides for equal treatment of all religions in front of state.

Regionalism is the idea of promoting interests and welfare of a particular region.

Most common form of communalism is the inter-religious conflict which originates from the belief of supremacy of one’s own religion.
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