The growth of communalism in India was encouraged by the British authorities as well as certain trends in Indian society. In the light of this observation, explain:

(a) The Divide and Rule Policy of the British.

(b) The writings and speeches of the Assertive Nationalists.

(c) The erroneous interpretation of Indian History.

(a) The British saw the unity between the Hindus and the Muslims as a threat to them. Thus, to check the growth of a united national feeling in India and to encourage communal and separatist tendencies in Indian politics, they decided to follow the policy of 'Divide and Rule'. They did so in the following manner:

1. In 1871, Lord Mayo's government adopted a resolution which made Urdu the medium of instruction for Muslims in primary and secondary schools and increased government aid to educational institutions run by the Muslims.
2. They tried to create hatred among the Hindus and the Muslims by portraying Muslim rulers as plunderers, and Hindu rulers as cruel kings to their Muslim subjects.
3. They tried to justify the Partition of Bengal by convincing the Muslims that Bengal was being partitioned to create a new Muslim majority province where the Hindus would not be able to subvert their interests.
4. They tried to utilise the caste structure to turn the non-brahmins and the lower castes against high castes.
5. They treated Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs as separate communities and accepted their communal leaders as authentic representatives of all their co-religionists.

They tried to spread communal hatred through the Press, posters, literature and public platform.

(b) The assertive nationalists played an important role in the national movement. But some of their actions marked a step back in respect of the growth of national unity.

1. The speeches and actions of some of the assertive nationalists annoyed some sections of Indians.
2. For example, the propagation of Shivaji and Ganapati festivals by Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh's concept of India as mother and nationalism as religion and the initiation of the Anti-Partition agitation with dips in the Ganga did not appeal to some of the Muslims.

(c) The manner in which Indian history was interpreted in those days contributed to the growth of communal thinking among the Hindus and the Muslims.

1. Some British and communal historians divided Indian history into the Hindu and the Muslim periods. The rule of Turks, Afghans and Mughals was called the Muslim rule, where the rulers were said to be the followers of Islam and their subjects, the followers of other religions. In the so-called Hindu period, Muslim rulers were dubbed as foreign invaders who had settled in India. They portrayed Rana Pratap and Shivaji as national heroes and Akbar and Aurangzeb as foreigners and infused communal feelings.
2. The British and communal historians ignored the notion of a composite culture in India and tried to create a rift between the two communities. They failed to interpret that the diversity was primarily class-wise and region-wise and not religion-wise.
3. Some communal historians highlighted the myth that Indian society and culture had reached great heights during the ancient period but was declining during the medieval period which was dominated by Mughal rulers. They did not give much importance to the contribution of the medieval period to the development of Indian economy, religion, art, literature, culture and society.
4. The communal bias was propagated through poetry, drama, novels, short stories, newspapers, etc.