BOOK REVIEW december 7, 2013 vol xlviII no 49 EPWEconomic & PoliticalWeekly 30 The Origins of Communalis m Ari a Tha kerI n his Issues of Communal Violence: Causes and Responses, Irfan Engi- neer discusses the societal condi- tions that bring about and perpetuate communal riots in modern India. Most of the time, Engineer’s analysis strikes an effective balance between theoretical and empirical explanations; he discuss- es the nature of communalism, but also provides ample proof of his reasoning by citing scholarly studies and documented incidents from Godhra 2002, Mumbai 1992, and many other instances of com- munal violence. In a few sections, how- ever, Engineer’s explication of particu- lars regarding the formation of riots seems a bit simplistic. Overall, however, Issues of Communa l Violence is a persua- sive text, one that disentangles many is- sues often confused i n media and popu- lar discourse surrounding riots today. What Is Communalism? Engineer begins his book by engaging with other scho lars, quo ting liberall y from different texts in order to explain var ied theories regarding the origins of com- munal violence. Some scholars, Engineer states, describe communal violence as the direct result of mounting religious tension, some state that it is caused mostly by political and economic factors, and some claim it results from a conflu- ence of factors – ideological, religious, political and material. Through his care- ful consideration of a diversity of ideas, Engineer provides a thoughtful portray- al of the complexity – a nd controversy – surrounding the idea of what commu- nalism is and how it happens. Issues of Communal Violence, however, is not without its own, powerful voice. Engineer assert ively dispels much of the propaganda surrounding riots, such as the idea that communal organisations exist to “protect” people of their faith against violence from other communi ties. Engineer writes, There is not a single instance where Shiv Sainiks marched to the largest Muslim ghetto in Mumbai – Bhindi Bazaar – to secure Hindu minorities in the area when some of them were attac ked as a revenge to Musl im casu- alties in other areas, nor did Muslim-armed groups that were attacking Hindus in the Bhindi Bazaar area ever try to protect Mus- lims in the areas where they were v ulnerable and in the minorit y. Evolution of Riots Sometimes, however, Engineer is over- zealous in his attempt to explain com- munal violence. For example, in his dis- cussion of the evolution of riots, Engi- neer delineates four categories of people who participate in communal violence. These categories, in order, are: the orga- nisers, the trained fighters, the people who spread rumours to inflame c ommu- nal sentiment, and the people who have motivations other than communal hat- red. Engineer’s categorisation does effe- ctively convey the vast network of ef- forts that go into the planning and exe- cution of what is often erroneously per- ceived as spontaneous violence. It may be true that the four listed roles form the backbone of most com- munal riots and wanton violence. How- ever, it is simplistic to conclude that therefore there must be only four dis- tinct categories of people who contrib- ute to the violence. The distillation of communal elements into four categories discounts the possibility that some people occupy two, or multiple of the niches Engineer presents. The first and fourth categories, in particular, seem to have a great deal of overlap, as do the first and third. Issues of Communal Violence: Causes and Responses by Irfan Engineer (Mumbai: Institute for Peace Studies a nd Conflic t Resolution), 2013 ; pp 51 , Rs 150.
