The Time of Kali: Violence between Religious Groups in India
Author(s)
Kakar, Sudhir
Abstract
In concentrating on the causes of violence between religious/ ethnic groups, academic discourse has generally tended to ignore the actual violence itself. The psychological state of an individual involved in the process of violence has received insufficient attention. Taking a case study of Hindu-Muslim violence, I have tried to map out the psychological shift that occurs when peaceful religious identities come to be replaced by violent “communal” ones. This shift, initiated by certain actual events, brings to fore a version of history that emphasizes conflict rather than coexistence between the groups. The establishment of an inherently violent communal identity is decisively propelled by religious-political demagogues who stoke persecution anxiety. It is also perpetuated by the circulation of rumors that further activate the paranoid potential through the imagery of the body in imminent danger of extinction. With the establishment of the primacy of the communal identity, a new morality that sanctions arson, looting and killing of the male members of the enemy group takes hold. The actual violence, however, especially the killings, generally remains the province of “professionals” who view themselves as soldiers in defense of the community’s faith.
