The Cost of Division: From Swami Vivekananda’s Era to 2026

From the late 19th century to 2026, the manipulation of religious and caste identities for political power has been a recurring pattern in Indian society—and indeed, across the world. Swami Vivekananda, one of India’s most influential spiritual leaders and social reformers, warned against these divisions over a century ago. His teachings on social reform remain powerfully relevant today.

What Vivekananda Said

Swami Vivekananda was unequivocal in his criticism of the caste system and social divisions. Here are some of his verified statements:

“The only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness. Either in this world or in the world of religion, it is true that fear is the sure cause of degradation and sin. It is fear that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear that breeds evil. And what causes fear? Ignorance of our own nature.”

On caste specifically, he stated: “The caste system is opposed to the religion of the Vedanta… Caste is a social custom, and all our great preachers have tried to break it down.”

He advocated for the uplifting of the masses: “So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.”

He also said: “My ideal indeed can be put into a few words and that is: to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.”

The 1890s-1940s: Seeds of Division

During Vivekananda’s time and the decades following, British colonial rule in India actively employed “divide and rule” policies. The census operations that rigidified caste categories, the separate electorates based on religion, and the promotion of communal histories all served to fragment Indian society along religious and caste lines.

The British found it convenient to classify India’s diverse population into rigid categories and play these groups against each other. What had been fluid social boundaries became hardened legal identities. Religious communities that had coexisted for centuries were increasingly defined in opposition to each other.

Vivekananda recognized this danger. He worked to create a vision of India that transcended these divisions, emphasizing universal spirituality and social equality. He traveled extensively in India and abroad, advocating for a reformed Hinduism that rejected caste discrimination and promoted service to humanity. However, after his death in 1902, the struggle between unity and division intensified.

Post-Independence: The Promise and the Reality (1947-1990)

India gained independence in 1947, but it came with the traumatic Partition along religious lines, resulting in one of the largest mass migrations in human history and estimated deaths ranging from several hundred thousand to over a million people. The promise was that independent India would be a secular democracy where caste and religious discrimination would gradually disappear.

The Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, abolished untouchability and provided affirmative action for historically marginalized castes and tribes. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, himself from an oppressed caste background, was the principal architect of this progressive document. The Constitution guaranteed equality before law, freedom of religion, and prohibited discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

Yet political parties soon learned what the colonial powers had known: divided populations are easier to mobilize and control. Caste-based voting blocs became crucial to electoral mathematics. Political parties began to cultivate specific caste groups as their “vote banks,” promising them benefits and representation in exchange for loyalty.

Religious polarization periodically flared into violence, often conveniently timed around elections. Major communal riots occurred in various Indian cities throughout the decades, each leaving scars that took generations to heal. Politicians who could activate caste or religious identities found themselves with dedicated supporters who would overlook governance failures as long as their identity felt protected or empowered.

The Modern Era: Sophisticated Division (1990-2026)

The 1990s: Mandal and Mandir

The 1990s saw two major flashpoints that revealed how deeply caste and religion could polarize Indian society.

The implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations for caste-based reservations in government jobs and educational institutions sparked widespread protests and counter-protests. Upper-caste students set themselves on fire in protest. Counter-protests demanded even broader reservations. The entire nation seemed to be discussing caste categories that the Constitution had hoped to make irrelevant.

Simultaneously, the movement to build a Hindu temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya gained momentum. In December 1992, the mosque was demolished by crowds of activists, triggering communal riots across India that killed nearly 2,000 people. The event and its aftermath showed how quickly religious identities could be activated for political purposes, with devastating consequences.

Both events showed political parties across the spectrum willing to use identity politics for electoral advantage. Some parties positioned themselves as defenders of backward castes, others as champions of upper castes, still others as protectors of religious minorities or the religious majority.

The Digital Age: Division Goes Viral (2000-2026)

The rise of social media and smartphone penetration has transformed how religious and caste divisions are exploited. By 2026, India has over 700 million internet users, many accessing the internet primarily through smartphones and social media platforms.

WhatsApp Politics: Fake news and inflammatory content spread through encrypted messaging apps, creating echo chambers where prejudices are reinforced. Studies have documented how misinformation about religious minorities has led to mob violence and lynchings. A false rumor about child kidnappers can spread to millions of phones within hours, leading to actual murders of innocent people.

Fact-checking organizations struggle to keep pace. By the time a false claim is debunked, it has already been shared thousands of times, and the debunking rarely reaches the same audience that saw the original lie.

Algorithm-Driven Polarization: Social media algorithms prioritize engagement, which often means amplifying divisive content. A person curious about their caste history can quickly find themselves in a rabbit hole of supremacist content. Videos promoting caste pride or religious superiority get more shares and comments than calls for unity, so algorithms push them to more viewers.

Research has shown that exposure to inflammatory content increases over time as algorithms learn what triggers strong reactions. Users become progressively radicalized without even realizing it, as their feed becomes dominated by increasingly extreme viewpoints.

Data-Driven Microtargeting: Political campaigns use big data to send different messages to different caste and religious groups, promising benefits to one while stoking fears about another. A political party might send messages to one community promising protection from another community, while simultaneously telling the second community that the first community threatens them.

This has become increasingly sophisticated by 2026. Campaigns use machine learning to identify which issues resonate with which identity groups, then craft specific narratives for each. Voters in the same city may be receiving completely different versions of reality, each tailored to activate their particular identity-based fears or aspirations.

Legitimization Through Digital Reach: Fringe views that would once have been confined to small groups now find massive audiences online, normalizing extremism. Caste supremacist content, religious hate speech, and calls for violence that would have been socially unacceptable in most communities can now find validation and amplification online.

Influencers and content creators have built substantial followings by promoting divisive narratives. Some monetize hatred, earning revenue from ads displayed alongside inflammatory content. The economics of digital media often reward polarization.

The Mechanics of Political Division

How It Works

The pattern across different contexts remains remarkably consistent, whether we’re looking at India in 1900, 1990, or 2026:

Identity Activation: Political actors remind people of their caste or religious identity and its supposed grievances or glorious past. This might involve invoking historical injustices, celebrating ancient heroes, or emphasizing cultural distinctiveness. The message is clear: your primary identity is your caste or religious community, and this identity must be defended.

Threat Construction: An “other” group is portrayed as a threat to the group’s interests, safety, or cultural survival. This threat might be economic (they’re taking our jobs, getting unfair advantages), cultural (they’re eroding our traditions, imposing their values), or physical (they’re violent, dangerous, a threat to our women and children).

The threat narrative often combines real grievances with exaggeration and fabrication. There might be legitimate economic anxieties that are then channeled into blaming a specific community. Historical conflicts are revived and reinterpreted through a contemporary lens.

Emotional Mobilization: Fear, anger, and pride are deliberately cultivated through selective presentation of facts, historical revisionism, and sometimes outright fabrication. Emotional content spreads faster than rational analysis. A video of a crime committed by someone from one community against someone from another community will be shared millions of times, while statistics showing that such crimes are rare will barely circulate.

Leaders use powerful rhetoric, symbols, and rituals to bind people to their cause. Religious ceremonies become political rallies. Cultural festivals become demonstrations of strength. Every interaction becomes a potential battleground for identity.

Electoral Conversion: This emotional energy is channeled into votes, donations, or street mobilization. People vote not based on policies or governance, but based on which party they believe will protect their community or advance its interests.

In close elections, polarization can be decisive. A party that can activate even a small percentage of previously uninterested voters through identity appeals can win power. This creates incentives for continued polarization.

Power Consolidation: Once in power, leaders may further entrench divisions to maintain their base and deflect from governance failures. When questioned about unemployment, infrastructure, or education, leaders redirect attention to identity-based conflicts. When economic policies fail, they blame other communities. When corruption is exposed, they frame it as an attack by rival communities.

The Cost of Division

The costs of this strategy are enormous and multifaceted:

Economic Costs: Riots destroy property and livelihoods worth billions. Investment avoids polarized regions—businesses don’t want to build factories in areas prone to violence. Tourism suffers when regions gain reputations for unrest. Human capital is wasted when people are selected or rejected based on identity rather than merit.

Studies have shown that Indian cities that experienced communal riots see reduced economic growth for years afterward. Trust between business communities breaks down. Insurance costs rise. International companies become wary.

The reservation system, while intended to correct historical injustices, has sometimes been exploited politically. Rather than focusing on quality education for all, politicians promise expanded reservations to win votes, sometimes creating new grievances in the process.

Social Costs: Trust between communities erodes. Neighborhoods become segregated, with members of different communities unwilling to rent or sell property to “others.” This residential segregation then reinforces stereotypes, as people have less interaction with diverse communities.

Intermarriage becomes controversial even when love exists. Young people face immense family and community pressure to marry within their caste and religion. Those who cross these boundaries may face ostracism, violence, or even honor killings.

Friendships across community lines become strained during periods of tension. People who had peacefully coexisted for decades suddenly view each other with suspicion. Children grow up learning that they should primarily identify with their community and be wary of others.

Educational Costs: Schools and universities become battlegrounds for identity politics. Rather than focusing on learning, students are drawn into caste and religious conflicts. Academic discourse becomes constrained, with certain topics becoming too sensitive to discuss openly.

History education becomes particularly controversial, with different groups demanding that textbooks reflect their version of the past. Science education sometimes suffers when religious sentiments are invoked against teaching evolution or other topics.

Student organizations based on caste and religious identities proliferate, sometimes leading to violence on campuses. Merit-based admission and advancement become secondary to identity-based considerations in some institutions.

Psychological Costs: Young people inherit prejudices they didn’t create and conflicts they don’t understand. Children grow up in environments where they’re taught to fear or hate entire communities based on stereotypes.

The constant stress of living in polarized societies takes a mental health toll. Minorities in particular may experience chronic anxiety about their safety and belonging. The psychological burden of discrimination affects academic performance, career prospects, and overall wellbeing.

Talented individuals from marginalized communities may internalize negative stereotypes, limiting their aspirations. Others may become consumed by anger at injustice, which can lead either to productive activism or destructive rage.

Political Costs: Governance suffers when politicians focus on identity mobilization rather than policy. Elections become about managing identity coalitions rather than debating ideas. Legislative time is spent on symbolic issues that activate identity groups rather than substantive reforms.

The quality of political leadership declines, as skills in polarization become more valuable than skills in administration. Competent civil servants are sidelined in favor of those loyal to identity-based movements. Long-term planning gives way to short-term identity management.

Democratic institutions weaken when they’re seen as tools of particular communities rather than neutral arbiters. Courts, police, election commissions, and other institutions lose legitimacy when they’re perceived as biased.

National Security Costs: Internal divisions weaken national unity and can be exploited by external adversaries. Foreign intelligence agencies have been documented spreading communal rumors to destabilize India. Pakistan’s intelligence services have long tried to exacerbate Hindu-Muslim tensions. China has at times promoted ethnic separatism in India’s northeast.

Divided societies are also less capable of responding to genuine threats. When communities don’t trust each other, sharing security information becomes difficult. Military recruitment and cohesion can suffer when soldiers view each other through identity lenses.

The Global Pattern

India is not alone in experiencing the political manipulation of identity. The pattern repeats across the world:

United States: Racial divisions have been exploited throughout American history, from slavery through Jim Crow to contemporary politics. Political polarization has intensified with social media, with Americans increasingly sorted into identity-based tribal affiliations.

Europe: Religious and ethnic identities have been activated around immigration issues. Far-right parties have grown by stoking fears about Muslim immigrants. Brexit was partly driven by anxieties about national identity and immigration.

Middle East: Sunni-Shia divisions have been manipulated by political actors, leading to devastating conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere. Colonial powers once drew borders to ensure ethnic and religious diversity would prevent unified opposition.

Africa: Ethnic identities, sometimes invented or hardened by colonial powers, have been exploited by post-colonial politicians, leading to conflicts from Rwanda to Kenya to Nigeria.

Myanmar: Buddhist nationalism has been used to justify persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority, leading to what UN investigators have called genocide.

The common thread across all these contexts is that identity-based division serves those seeking power, while ordinary people pay the price in conflict, underdevelopment, and lost opportunities.

Vivekananda’s Vision: An Alternative Path

Swami Vivekananda offered a different vision, one that remains relevant in 2026. His core principles included:

Universal Humanity: He emphasized that beneath superficial differences, all humans share the same divine nature. He taught: “We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.”

Service to Humanity: Rather than focusing on ritual and identity, he advocated for practical service. He established the Ramakrishna Mission, which has run schools, hospitals, and relief operations across India for over a century, serving people of all backgrounds.

Education and Empowerment: He believed that education was the key to breaking down prejudice and empowering marginalized communities. He said, “Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man.”

Rational Spirituality: He advocated for a religion based on reason and experience rather than blind faith and superstition. This rational approach naturally undermines identity-based prejudices.

National Unity: While proud of Indian civilization, he emphasized unity across caste and religious lines. He envisioned an India where all citizens could reach their full potential regardless of birth.

Contemporary Voices for Unity

Vivekananda’s legacy continues in various forms in 2026:

Civil Society Organizations: Thousands of NGOs work across caste and religious lines on issues like education, health, environmental conservation, and economic development. They demonstrate daily that Indians can work together across identity lines.

Interfaith Initiatives: Groups bringing together Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, and Jain leaders for dialogue and joint service projects. They show that religious identity need not mean religious conflict.

Youth Movements: Young Indians increasingly frustrated with identity politics have formed movements focused on governance, anti-corruption, and civic participation. Many explicitly reject caste and religious division.

Progressive Political Voices: Some political leaders and parties continue to advocate for secular, inclusive politics focused on development and justice rather than identity mobilization.

Artists and Cultural Figures: Writers, filmmakers, musicians, and other artists create work that bridges communities and challenges prejudice. Bollywood films, despite criticisms, often promote messages of communal harmony.

Digital Counter-Movements: Fact-checkers, rational discourse platforms, and online communities work to counter misinformation and promote evidence-based dialogue across identity lines.

The Challenge Ahead

By 2026, India faces a critical choice. The country has made remarkable progress since independence—lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty, building scientific and technological capabilities, establishing itself as a major economy, and maintaining largely democratic institutions through decades of challenge.

Yet the persistent manipulation of caste and religious identities threatens to undermine this progress. Every riot sets back economic development. Every hour spent on identity conflict is an hour not spent improving schools or healthcare. Every talented individual held back by discrimination or violence is a loss for the entire nation.

The challenge is particularly acute for India’s young population. With one of the youngest populations in the world, India’s future depends on whether today’s youth inherit the prejudices of the past or build something better.

Practical Steps Forward

Moving beyond division requires action at multiple levels:

Individual Level:

• Question your own prejudices and where they come from
• Build friendships and relationships across caste and religious lines
• Fact-check inflammatory content before sharing
• Support businesses and institutions that practice inclusion
• Speak up against prejudice in your family and social circles
• Choose political candidates based on governance records, not identity appeals

Community Level:

• Support interfaith and inter-caste dialogue initiatives
• Organize community events that bring diverse groups together
• Create safe spaces for honest conversation about prejudice and privilege
• Celebrate the diversity of your community rather than its homogeneity
• Mentor young people across identity lines
• Support victims of discrimination and violence

Institutional Level:

• Reform political campaign regulations to limit identity-based appeals
• Strengthen institutions to ensure equal treatment regardless of identity
• Improve education to teach critical thinking and India’s diverse heritage
• Hold media accountable for inflammatory content
• Enhance police and judicial response to identity-based violence
• Create economic opportunities based on merit and need, not identity

Policy Level:

• Implement affirmative action in ways that reduce rather than increase division
• Invest heavily in quality public education accessible to all
• Create economic growth that provides opportunities across communities
• Regulate social media to reduce algorithmic amplification of divisive content
• Support local governments in promoting inter-community harmony
• Focus governance on universal issues like healthcare, infrastructure, and environment

Conclusion: Fulfilling Vivekananda’s Vision

Swami Vivekananda died in 1902 at the age of only 39, but his vision continues to inspire. He believed that India could lead the world in demonstrating how diverse communities could live together in harmony, united by shared values and mutual respect.

In 2026, India—and the world—still struggles with the challenges he identified over a century ago. Caste and religion continue to be manipulated for political power. The cost of this manipulation is measured in riots, discrimination, wasted potential, and a society that falls short of its possibilities.

But the path forward is clear. It requires rejecting the politics of division and embracing the politics of unity. It requires seeing beyond superficial identity to recognize our shared humanity. It requires judging people by their character and actions, not their caste or religion. It requires building institutions that treat all citizens equally and justly.

Most fundamentally, it requires recognizing that those who promote division do so for their own power, not for the welfare of the communities they claim to represent. The ordinary person, regardless of caste or religion, benefits from peace, good governance, economic opportunity, and social harmony. The political manipulator benefits from conflict.

As Vivekananda taught, we each carry within us the divine spark, the capacity for greatness regardless of the circumstances of our birth. A society organized around this principle would unleash human potential in ways that identity-based politics never can.

The question is not whether such a society is possible—every day, millions of Indians work, study, create, and live peacefully across caste and religious lines. The question is whether we will allow our politics to reflect this reality, or continue to let division be weaponized against us.

The answer will determine not just India’s future, but its place in the world. A country that can fully harness the talents of all its citizens, that can convert diversity from a source of conflict into a source of strength, that can demonstrate that ancient identities need not mean modern division—such a country could indeed become developed in the fullest sense.

This is the promise that Vivekananda saw in India. In 2026, that promise remains unfulfilled but not unattainable. It awaits not grand gestures but millions of small choices—to question rather than accept prejudice, to build bridges rather than walls, to judge individuals rather than stereotype communities, to demand governance rather than identity performance from our leaders.

The cost of staying divided is too high. The benefits of unity are too great. The time to choose is now.

In 2026, despite being the world’s fourth-largest economy, the condition of India’s premier government hospital—AIIMS Delhi—raises uncomfortable questions about our healthcare priorities, as clearly seen in the video below.

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