Fear Still Stalks Religious Minorities
In the words of activist Harsh Mander, a prominent target of the regime, the “election results of 2024 have not erased the dangers of fascism. The cadres of the Hindu Right remain powerful and motivated.”
Girish Karnad on the Campaign to Communalise Ayodhya
Girish Karnad: “Communalism was the one issue which made me feel that if I didn’t actively fight it I would still be making a political statement. I felt I had to take a stand.”
Indian Voters Deliver a Stunning Rebuke to Modi – 3 Articles
‘Salaam, Indian Voters!’; ‘A Stunning Rebuke to Narendra Modi’s Divisive, Anti-Muslim Rhetoric’; ‘A Clear Message’: Rejecting communal politics, India’s voters have reaffirmed faith in secularism, federalism, and scientific temper.
Ladakh’s Resentment of New Delhi has Overridden Old Buddhist–Muslim Acrimony
After the revocation of Article 370, Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil have united in protest against the BJP and the Modi government, demanding statehood for Ladakh and Sixth Schedule protections.
Religious-National Identity, Civilisational Revival: Hindutva and Zionism are Ideological Cousins
The earliest Hindu nationalists V.D. Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar modelled their Hindu state on Zionism.
Muslims and 2024 Lok Sabha Elections – 2 Articles
‘How Did the Muslim Vote?’: Despite being the target of the Prime Minister’s public speeches and facing continuous discrimination, the Muslim voter has voted in support of saving the Constitution and India’s democracy. Also: ‘‘A Little Less Suffocating: Why Many Muslims View the Lok Sabha Verdict with Cautious Hope”.
Bharat, India and Hindustan Don’t Cancel Each Other Out. They Reflect Continuities in Our History
Today we are facing a revivalist moment in our political history, ironically, as a free nation. It is a defeatist hangover of history to create a wedge between what we named and what named us. We adopted these names for centuries out of a spirit we call Indian, or Bharatiya.
What Nehru Flagged as ‘Most Dangerous’ Modi Now Invokes for Votes
Modi targeting Muslim community of our country in his campaign speeches have no parallel in the electoral history of independent India. Jawaharlal Nehru had warned that employing communal rhetoric for votes would put the unity and integrity of the people and country in peril.
The EAC-PM’s Paper on ‘Muslim Population’ Is a Travesty of Research Practices
An EAC-PM paper claims that the Hindu share of India’s population has fallen between 1950 and 2015 by 7.8%, while that of Muslims has increased by 43% over the same period. The authors question the methodology followed in the paper and hence its findings. Also, extract from: Banjot Kaur, ‘Fact Check: Old Data, New Spin in PM-EAC Report on India’s Population’.
The Normalisation of Hate in India – 3 Articles
How Hate Has Been Normalised, Behaviourally and Institutionally, in Modi’s India; Modi’s Hypocritical Doublespeak About Religion and the Constitution; At Rae Bareli, a Picture of Contrasts in Amit Shah and Priyanka Gandhi.