Communal politics is based on the idea that religion is the principal basis of social community. (i) The followers of a particular religion must belong to one community. Their fundamental interests are the same. Any difference that they may have is irrelevant or trivial for community life. It also follows that people who follow different religions cannot belong to the same social community. (ii) A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one’s own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, this takes the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit. (iii) Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. For example, communal riots in UP Bihar, Gujarat, etc. , (iv) Communalism should not be seen as a threat to some people in India. It threatens the very idea of India. That is why communalism needs to be combated.