Identity Creation, Violence and Non Violence

How did communal identity arise? Why does violence often result with the consciousness of identity? I would add that “communal” here does not have the narrow popular Indian meaning having to do with religion. It is a more holistic term referring to the society.

Formation of Social Identity

Historical material incidences led to social behavior and practices of communities limited by geographical barriers and the following lack of information flow. This saw the formation of culture and religion, differentiating one set of people from the other.

A community is defined by a system of values, norms, moral codes and behavior that forms the social consciousness leading to a sense of identity, binding people together. But the awareness of this identity remained unknown until it came across other communities and the differences of behavior and perception becomes evident.

As man and society progressed, people began traveling further and wider than ever before for trade, conquest and adventure, hence coming across people from different social systems. This caused the sense of social identity to take proportions never seen before, and hence conflicts of religion, race, language etc began for the first time. This, however, does not discredit the role of ideas and ideology in perpetuating violence. In fact, ideas and ideology itself had resulted from dialectical processes rooting from material surroundings, and from interaction with other social systems.

The consciousness of belonging determines the communal identity of an individual.  In his book, ‘Identity and Violence’, Amartya Sen writes about how peoples’ identities go beyond the narrow ones of religion, race, nationality, sexuality and so forth and extend to tastes of food, music etc. Homogenizing identities of race, sexuality, nationality, etc lead to sidelining of other identities the individual might hold, such as that of being a low wage worker, or being a classical music fan. But the human tendency of conformism with society leads people to value one identity with greater fervor than the other.

Brotherhood and kinship within a community of similar race, religion or region is valued by individuals beyond any such connect that arises from ‘minor’ similarities such as having a liking for a particular sport. Identity formation is a process of inclusion and exclusion of values and symbols defining ‘we’ and ‘others’.

Identities of ethnicity and community become products of historical contexts, and hence perception of incidents is not fixed.

A community’s awareness of its identity materializes when it comes in contact with another community which is not similar to it. Cultural identity takes political form and the differentiation of ‘we’ and ‘them’ gets sharper than ever, and more concrete. Communal identity and consciousness is hence created where none existed. 

The Resulting Violence

Over time, consciousness of habits make the differences more pronounced, as individuals try to establish identity in a way that makes the many similarities across cultures or ethnicities fade, and they are relegated to being unimportant attributes of the individual. Hence the ignoring of commonalities magnifies the differences, and prejudices become more pronounced.

Ideas and ideologies emerge from the intellectual classes intent on highlighting the achievements of their culture over others. Such ideologies can lead to formation of political movements which in turn cause the social atmosphere to get charged. Individuals get homogenized, depersonalized, and increasingly dehumanized. Rumors and rival mobilizations fuel a mania of counter mobilization. The slightest of spark in such an atmosphere can lead to violence.

This communal violence, in turn, reinforces communal identity, causing a vicious cycle to break out and gain momentum, rendering it impossible, or at least very difficult, to stop. Each side claims to be victim, and the other as aggressor, as the initial movements in this direction by both is blurred under layers of recurring violence.

It is thus seen that in conflicts, both sides have stories to tell about atrocities of the others, and no one is entirely wrong. Often our own view points are built by the identities we carry, rather than full unbiased knowledge of historical events or reason.

The Role Of Non Violence

And much to the dismay of many, non-violence emerges as a very effective way of stemming recurring cyclical violence, although it often means short term atrocity on oneself. Only periods of non violence, even if unilateral, can bring out the immense similarities in identity people share as being a part of the human race, relegating the fringe to where they belong over periods of time. This in no way implies a lowering of guard against those forces which seek to use such restraint to forward their own socio-political objectives that arise from such communal identity. In fact, non-violence can only succeed by securing those who practice it.