QUESTION 19
GS1
15 marks
Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India.
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Distinguish personal religiosity from communalism and show one case in independent India where the first turned into the second.
DistinguishBring out the differences clearly, point by point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Religiosity: personal faith, rituals, moral values; private and inclusive≈50 words
- 2Communalism: belief that religious groups have distinct and opposed secular interests; political use of religion; hostility to others≈50 words
- 3Example: Ram Janmabhoomi movement (1980s–90s) or Shah Bano case politics (1985–86) turning faith into mobilisation≈50 words
- 4How transformation happens: political mobilisation, media, identity insecurity≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
DefinitionsDifferences tableOne example tracedDriversConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Giving many examples instead of one well-traced case
- Not stating differences clearly
Draw this
- Two-column table: religiosity vs communalism
Value addition
- ThinkerBipan Chandra describes three stages of communalism: shared interests, divergent interests, and hostile interests.Bipan Chandra, Communalism in Modern India, 1984
- CaseM. Siddiq v Mahant Suresh Das (2019) resolved the Ayodhya title dispute.Supreme Court, 2019
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 35 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 41 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 11 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 11 minutes, then get it checked.