Communalism and Ethnicity

Abstract

Gupta discusses the concept of ethnicity through his study of the Sikh identity. He underlines the importance of context in the interpretation of culture. In the 1980s, Sikhism was seen as a religion that encouraged separatist doctrine. Communalism and ethnicity are the biggest enemies of fraternity and they are extremely dangerous because they rest primarily on passion. Gupta discussed the importance of the triadic framework for peace to reign. When the traid fails, it leads to misrecognition, which is a mutual phenomenon. The role of sociologists in a democracy lies in demolishing essentialist views of other cultures, whether they are based on religion, caste, or nation. India offers a unique diverse ground for testing social theories.