Communalism and Its Impact on Human Development Future Civil Society Initiatives for Inter-Communal Peace in Gujarat

Communalism is defined as a distrust and acrimony among different faith-based social groups such as Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Christians, and different ethnic groups which results in riots and violence. My research focused on identifying how communalism is a major hurdle and threat to human development in Gujarat. Communalism has been a problem in Gujarat for centuries, alongside other problems like unemployment, women‘s issue, climate change issues, illiteracy, and other social issues which impact growth towards sustainable development. Communalism in particular, including both inter-religious and caste issues, have been growing day by day and harming both sides of the community. Communalism has affected people‘s routine life, mental-physical capability, and resources. My research explored different ways to uproot communalism through community efforts which would support more sustainable human development. In this research, I have covered key points as causes and effects of communalism and future prevention methods suggested by participants to sustain peace. This research paper attempts to explore different sides of sustainable development, conflict resolution, and human development to rebuild sustainable communities in Gujarat