ABSTRACT
Ever since the political consciousness among different social and religious groups arose, religious mobilization has been a hallmark of Bihar politics. Reported incidents of communal violence during the partition and also afterwards extending into decades have paid rich dividends to different political parties at the helms of power and also in opposition. The focus of this chapter is to examine the role of religion as a handy and useful tool for garnering support during elections from 1980s onwards till the present. There may have been several causes, be it economic, social or religious hatred, for communal riots happening in the state of Bihar, but political dimensions of communal riots have overshadowed all other factors.
It is not only the districts where, for example, Muslims may be residing in fairly large numbers, but even in places where Muslims may not be in large numbers, and may be politically aligned with either Congress Party, the left parties or even with the social justice plank of Rashtriya Janata Dal, it is being observed that Hindu religious groups and political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party have indulged in communal politics especially since late 1980s onwards. The Ramjanma Bhumi and Babri Masjid dispute at Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh found echo in Bihar as well. Mobilizations through ‘Ramshila Pujan’ across several communally sensitive districts in Bihar in the late 1980s and early 1990s laid the foundation for strong support for BJP among the caste Hindu electorate. The Bhagalpur riot of 1989 was a strong reminder to Muslims in Bihar and elsewhere that the state’s non-action could have devastating impact on harmony among socio-religious groups.
The politics of ‘Mandal and Kamandal’ and the emergence of Laloo Prasad Yadav on the scene in Bihar politics all through 1990s till the present time has made the political dynamics quite pronounced to the extent that Yadavs, other OBC castes, Dalits and Muslims have become a force to reckon with. The arrest of L. K. Advani, which literally stopped his ‘Rath Yatra’ in Bihar by the Laloo Prasad government, the subsequent Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the strict response from the state in terms of checking communal riots made Bihar peaceful for almost a decade and half. Breaking away of Nitish Kumar and Ramvilas Paswan from the Janata Dal and their subsequent alliance with the BJP has allowed the space at the helm of power in the state and also in the central government in New Delhi. But as a matter of fact, as it was visible in the last Assembly election in Bihar in 2015, the OBC-Dalit and Muslim combine is still a force that could halt the onward march of reactionary politics. With Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal (United) breaking up again from the Laloo Prasad Yadav led Rashtriya Janata Dal, with the formation of JD(U) and the BJP government has once again made the communal situation in Bihar quite gloomy.
