This book reconceptualises the idea of communalism in independent India. It locates the changing contours of politics and religion in the country from the colonial times to the present day, and makes an important intervention in understanding the relationship between communalism and communal violence. It evaluates the role of state, media, civil societies, political parties, and other actors in the process as well as ideas such as secularism, nationalism, minority rights and democracy. Using new conceptual tools and an interdisciplinary approach, the work challenges the conventional understanding of communalism as time and context independent. This topical volume will be useful to scholars and researchers in South Asian politics, political science, history, sociology and social anthropology, as well as the interested general reader.