ABSTRACT
Politics in contemporary South Asian states is marked by significant outbreaks of violence, mostly sparked by religious conflict. The violence that marked the partition of British India into two independent states of Pakistan and India on the basis of religion has had its sequel in terms of a string of violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The rules of exclusion, the price that liberal democracy and communal violence has to pay to sustain moderation, can imperil a fragile democracy, particularly in a post-colonial democracy. Violence in multiple forms linked to religion – ranging between mobilisation of angry crowds, bloody riots and suicide bombings – is on the political agenda of many states. In post-colonial societies, political parties are often torn between the opposing poles of the formally secular credentials of the modern state and the political demands of their religious clients.
