The Congress has historically played covert communal politics in

The words of Arundhati Roy pierce with the sharpness of truth, unveiling the hidden machinery of politics in India: “The Congress has historically played covert communal politics in order to create what in India we call vote banks.” In these words, she condemns a practice as old as power itself—dividing the people, setting community against community, not for justice or harmony, but for the securing of votes. Such politics does not unite; it fragments, feeding upon suspicion and fear, while the rulers reap advantage.

This truth echoes through the corridors of Indian history. After independence, when the dream of unity was fresh, the leaders who inherited the nation also inherited the temptation of control. Instead of dissolving the boundaries of caste, creed, and faith, many chose to deepen them in secret, whispering to each group that their survival depended upon loyalty to one party. Thus the vote bank was born, a treasury not of gold, but of divided hearts and fractured trust.

History offers us many warnings of this path. In the time of the Roman Republic, ambitious leaders fanned the flames of class divisions, promising the poor bread while whispering fear of the rich, and to the rich warning of chaos if the poor rose unchecked. Rome was not destroyed by an enemy from without, but by division from within, sharpened by those who sought power. So too in India, the politics of division has sometimes overshadowed the deeper call to unity, leaving wounds in the soul of the nation.

One need only recall the riots that stained India’s post-independence history. In moments of unrest, political hands fanned sparks into flames, turning neighbors into enemies. Communities that had lived side by side for centuries suddenly found themselves pitted against one another, their grief and rage harvested for electoral gain. These were not accidents of history—they were the fruits of communal politics, carefully cultivated for the harvest of votes.

Thus, Roy’s words are both accusation and warning. The art of division may win elections, but it cannot build nations. A society cannot endure if it is taught to fear itself. The truest leaders are not those who exploit differences, but those who weave them together into a stronger whole. Let future generations learn this: beware the seduction of leaders who trade unity for votes, for they may gain power in the moment, but they will leave behind a people broken, suspicious, and weary. The task of wisdom is not to create vote banks, but to create nations where every community feels secure, and every voice is heard as one.