Now, a comic book for communal harmony

In an attempt to effectively educate the masses about the complexities of communalism, a new graphical account addresses this age-old sensitive issue. Communalism Explained! A Graphic Account, penned by professor Ram Puniyani along with the founder of World Comics India, Sharad Sharma, seeks to break the stereotypical image of the minority community.

"After the Mumbai riots in 1993, there have been many misconceptions about a particular community. I felt that people needed to be informed about it. Illustrated version appeals more to people, specially the youth," said Puniyani, who took voluntary retirement from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay in December 2004, to work full time for communal harmony.

Available both in Hindi and English, the book has been published by World Comics India and Vani Prakashan with support from Oxfam India, a rights-based non-governmental organisation. The book, a graphical representation in the form of myths and reality touches upon the history of communalism, values of Gandhi, impact of communalism on weaker sections and ways to deal with this problem.

"There is a lot of knowledge about communalism in the academic world but we wanted to inform the masses about it. Comical representation made this complex issue lighter, which is simple and appeals to the eyes and minds of the masses," says Sharad Sharma.

"It is an attempt to preserve the secular fabric of this country, and inform the younger generation about this issue. The question and answer form delineates the issues and prompts the reader to think about the topic," he said.

The book also has marginal reference to the state of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and a separate chapter on communal politics in India. To make it a nationwide campaign against communalism, grassroots comics workshops, film shows and discussions will be organised in different cities to mobilise the masses for participation.

"Our work is just a drop in the ocean and the problem at hand is too big. We have a small team, but we will do our bit," said Puniyani. "In such sensitive issues, people do not get a chance to express their views most of the time. We want to change the direction of information flow -- it will be from bottom to top," said Sharma.

"We will come out with another book on the same issue which will have graphics made by people themselves," he added.