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@article{192054,
        author = {Abhishek Chandrakant Kumbhar and Dr. Rinku Dulloo and Piyush Moreshwar Kolhe and Suraj Vyankat Kamble},
        title = {Caste, Religion, and Language: A Review of Social Conflict in India},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {9},
        pages = {1392-1398},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=192054},
        abstract = {India’s highly diverse social fabric is under increasing strain due to the rising frequency of identity-based conflicts rooted in caste, religion, and language. While civic awareness is central to social harmony, existing research often examines these conflicts in isolation, limiting comparative understanding. This study undertakes a comparative thematic review using secondary data from NCRB crime statistics (2017–2022) and qualitative sources including national media explainers and civil society reports (2023–2025). An analysis matrix was used to compare triggers, key actors, and grievances across the three domains. Findings indicate a consistent rise in caste-based crimes, with a 13.1% increase in cases against Scheduled Castes in 2022, while religious conflict shows a gap between declining official riot data and rising independent reports of targeted hate crimes. Thematic analysis reveals that caste conflicts are largely structural, religious conflicts are politically produced, and linguistic conflicts are primarily economic in nature. The study concludes that India’s civic challenges are multidimensional and demand targeted, issue-specific policy and structural interventions rather than uniform awareness-based approaches.},
        keywords = {Social Cohesion; Identity Conflict; Caste; Communalism; Nativism; NCRB},
        month = {February},
        }