36 SOCIAL SCIENTIST done here to enable us to understand the people's response to communal propaganda as well as the response of the state. Social mobility and economic prosperity has also contributed to the rise and popularity of 'majoritarianism'. The new generations of mobile middle castes and classes born after independence located in the countryside and in the city were attracted to Hindu revitalization movements. There is a tendency on the part of many of the beneficiaries of the green revolution and the professionals and entrepreneurs to channel their newly acquired wealth into temples and other religious causes. For the new groups patronizing ritual practices not only earned them respect, but also provided a familiar and satisfying world view and social identity. The concern for identity is particularly important for the Indian middle class eager to find its social moorings in a rapidly changing society.22 This might be one of the principal reason why community identities and community based politics has been revived and intensified. It has gained greater legitimacy in the context of growing competition that upset the existing status and power hierarchies that lead to resentment and envy. The motive is to displace the emerging entrepreneurial class in crucial areas of trade and business and to reduce the possibility of keen competition. In northern India, Maharashtra, Gujarat, where there are large concentrations of Muslims, communal violence became endemic as a result of struggles between Hindus and Muslims over land, property and business opportunities. What is now happening in these areas is that a particular dominant group or caste, faced by a challenge from rival groups or lower classes, gives a communal character to such conflicts.23 This has happened in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat where there is a closing of ranks of the dominant castes which has taken on an anti-dalit or anti-Muslim forum. This tendency gained an impetus from the growing acquiescence in communal conflicts. Communal politics also became a form of cultural nationalism in a number of states. Several cultural organisations have emerged with the aim of creating among Hindus a sense of belonging to a homogeneous and centralised entity. Among them the VHP and Hindu Ekta Manch have played a crucial role in promoting a unification of the majority community. Part of the inspiration for these tendencies came from the unprecedented accent put on national security. The subtle message of a threat to Mother India beamed every night on Doordarshan succeeded in underlining the imperative need for strengthening national security to meet the challenge to national unity. The political elite treated the complex issue of national unity primarily from the standpoint of need to consolidate and legitimise a strong central authority in order to strengthen national identity. The state's strategy of excessive institutional centralisation is based on the hope that this would promote an enduring system of cohesion and assimilation. But even without the pressing requirements of national security, the idea of a strong centre as the centrepiece of Indian unity has found powerful