Indian Society
Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism
GS Paper I
Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism — Quick Revision
One-page UPSC revision on communalism, regionalism and secularism: stages, constitutional provisions, judgments, States reorganisation timeline and traps.
SyllabusGS I · Communalism, regionalism and secularism
A last-week sheet on three linked ideas. For Mains, keep every answer constitutional, balanced and non-partisan.
Communalism
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Meaning | A political ideology treating religious communities as having opposed secular interests |
| Bipan Chandra’s stages | Common interests → divergent interests (liberal) → hostile interests (extreme) |
| Colonial roots | Separate electorates (1909); Communal Award (1932) |
| Laws | IPC 153A, 295A (now in the BNS); RPA Section 123(3); Places of Worship Act, 1991 |
| Judgments | Abhiram Singh (2017) — religious appeals; Tehseen Poonawalla (2018) — mob lynching |
| Reports | Srikrishna Commission (Mumbai 1992–93); Sachar Committee (2006); Ranganath Misra Commission (2007) |
Secularism
| Provision | Content |
|---|---|
| Preamble | “Secular” — 42nd Amendment (1976); challenges dismissed November 2024 |
| Article 25 | Conscience; profess, practise, propagate; reform permitted |
| Article 26 | Denominations manage religious affairs |
| Article 27 | No taxes for promoting a particular religion |
| Article 28 | No religious instruction in wholly State-funded institutions |
| Article 44 | Uniform Civil Code (DPSP) |
| S.R. Bommai (1994) | Secularism a basic feature |
| Shirur Mutt (1954) | Essential religious practices test |
| Western model | Indian model |
|---|---|
| Wall of separation | Principled distance |
| Religion private | Equal respect for all religions |
| No State intervention | Intervention for reform permitted |
Regionalism
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1948 | Dar Commission; JVP Committee |
| 1953 | Andhra State (1 October) |
| 1955–56 | SRC report (Fazl Ali); States Reorganisation Act — 14 States, 6 UTs |
| 1960 | Maharashtra and Gujarat |
| 1966 | Haryana |
| 1972 | Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura |
| 1987 | Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa |
| 2000 | Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand |
| 2014 | Telangana |
| 2019 | J&K reorganised into two UTs |
High-yield facts
- Article 3: State legislature’s views on boundary changes are not binding.
- Article 4: laws under Articles 2 and 3 are not amendments under Article 368.
- Article 371J (Hyderabad–Karnataka): 98th Amendment, 2012.
- Zonal Councils are statutory (States Reorganisation Act, 1956); the Inter-State Council is under Article 263.
- Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code came into force in January 2025.
Traps
- India was secular in design from 1950; the 1976 amendment added the word.
- Communalism is not the same as religiosity.
- Not all new States were linguistic — 2000 and 2014 were development-based.
Related Topics
- Communalism and Indian Secularism
- Regionalism in India
- Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism — practice questions
- All quick revision sheets
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