Driving Them Into the Enemy's Arms
After the emphatic Modi (BJP?) win of 2014, some fear that Hindu fanaticism is now in the driver’s seat. Some of the events fueling that feeling/fear are ghar vapasi (re-converting back to Hinduism), the campaign against love jihad, ban on beef in a few states, introduction of the Gita in curriculum, appointment of Sangh-linked people in educational bodies and attacks against churches. Are these events real? Absolutely. But do they mean that we are getting Talibanized or becoming similar to the Islamic countries? That’s highly debatable. (It is one thing to say that we are heading down that road; but it’s nonsense to say that we are already very similar to them). In fact, such gross exaggeration actually has a negative impact. Here’s why. The folks who don’t believe we are anything even remotely like the Islamic countries (not yet anyway) then wonder why even a small to moderate bad act of the Hindu is treated at par with the worst of Islam. From there, it’s a short drive to