Some go so far as to argue that the recent rise of the lower castes in northern Indian politics and the implementation of reservations by the central government amount to a silent revolution, and that the politics of caste is secular and a bulwark against religious sectarianism.

Because he feared that communal passions might have infected the local security forces, he moved army troops from Madras and Pune to Delhi to ensure calm.

Sectarianism or nepotism

But boosters of caste politics claim that it is not economic deprivation but the social backwardness from which these castes have historically suffered that makes caste reservations necessary.

India s New Caste Politics

And for the first time, I was affected by this communal unrest.

Usually a prosperous caste succeeded in raising its rank in the ritual hierarchy.

True, sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq have escalated since the fall of Saddam.

Many consider India s increasing mobilization along caste lines a welcome assertion of identity.

Sectarianism and racism have become a regular feature of the political landscape.

The US should be working to create a strong, unified government, rather than strengthening sectarian militias.

Many more are feared as violence among the main sectarian groups escalates.

Is freedom of beliefs going flourish after the revolutions in the Arab World, or will some extremists impose intolerance and sectarianism?

Then there is sectarianism, particularly the growing strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Indeed, the protagonists of caste politics and caste based public policy simply cannot validate their assertions, offering only small sample surveys that can be grossly misleading in the context of a huge country characterized by monumental diversity.

Whether caste is a good indicator of socioeconomic deprivation remains an unsettled issue.

In the light of Iraqi nationalism that crosses sectarian boundaries, it is farfetched to consider the Iraqi Shia merely proxies of Iran.

The sectarian strains that are now rending societies across the Middle East are likely to change the regional map.

Historically, the political ethic of confessional societies has been grounded in a single, basic foundation.

Sectarianization became the pragmatic thing to do.

Hence, caste has not been an indicator of material deprivation, even during the early decades of the twentieth century. But boosters of caste politics claim that it is not economic deprivation but the social backwardness from which these castes have historically suffered that makes caste reservations necessary.

As a result, the uncertainty surrounding Obasanjo s plans is increasing sectional tensions.

So why did multi communal politics ultimately work in Malaya, and then in both Malaysia and Singapore, and fail so badly in Ceylon? One key reason must be the historical experience of the Sinhalese.

Inter marriages are a good way to bridge the sectarian rift in our society and I have always been all for it.

The execution of Nimr Al Nimr is a rare moment where outrage is transcending sectarian divides. Saudi weddady ( weddady) January 2, 2016

We talk to Maryam Al Khawaja about the role sectarianism plays in Bahrain and how that affects the movement.

The lack of such interaction inevitably heightens existing ethnic division.

We are hopeful that Iraqis, who have had their fill of sectarian political parties, will be allowed freely to choose candidates who embrace a non sectarian and non racist agenda.

This, according to Riemer, is supposed to bring a reduction in tensions and an increase in communications across the sectarian and religious divides in Lebanon.

Now Bush will increase the number of American troops in Baghdad and Anbar Province and try to stabilize both the rising sectarian civil war and the Sunni insurgency.

In this corner of cyberspace, there is, of course, everything under the sun, including calls for the worst sort of sectarianism.

The recent violence in Khartoum and Juba undoubtedly strained intercommunal relations in those two cities.

Iraq s prime minister, Nuri el Maliki, representing the ruling Shi a Kurdish coalition, expressed the hope that the dictator s end would help to heal the sectarian divides.

Indeed, intellectuals and politicians of all varieties almost unanimously hail the politics of caste identity as a move towards true equality.

Liberal reform parties that tried to transcend communal identities and appeal to all Iraqis did not do well.

The Iraqi government dismantled in October 2006 a complete police brigade because they had connections with sectarian death squadrons.

But elections in sectarian conflicts tend to be merely a census, and the Assad regime and all the other players know full well that Syria is a Sunni majority country.

They could be communist, they could be liberal, they could be fascist or Islamic.

We hope that all ethnic groups in Kosovo will endeavour to enhance mutual trust and promote reconciliation so as to lay a good foundation for the establishment of a society characterized by peaceful coexistence.

In October 2006, for example, Mecca was used to host talks among Iraq s warring sectarian factions.

Moreover, communal rights have progressively been accorded to the various groups that compose a nation.

Anyone can talk about sectarian cheers, and make claims about the nature of the Syrian conflict, but, deep inside, I trust that this revolution pulled us all out of the thousands of shells we used to hide in.

Some Syrians who oppose President Bashar al Assad s regime, pointing to Baghdad in 2005, argue that the one thing worse than a cruel dictator is a sectarian civil war.

What are the possible ramifications for such a policy on sectarian violence in Pakistan? Is it likely to exacerbate and make more deadly sectarian cleavages or the opposite?

Only substantive results in the areas of the economy, security, ethnic reconciliation and the establishment of a society based on multi ethnic, peaceful coexistence can lead to the definitive settlement of the question of Kosovo.