Editorial Note
By attacking minorities and propagating divisive rhetoric, proponents of Hindutva are breaking India.
On Christmas Eve 2024, groups of men carrying wooden sticks stormed a shopping mall in Raipur and vandalised Christmas celebrations. The pretext was a well-worn allegation of “forcible conversion” by Christians—a charge for which no credible evidence has been produced. The Government of India offered no condemnation. In the twelve years since the BJP came to power in 2014, the reassurances offered to India’s minorities have become formulaic—repeated to placate international observers, while the reality narrates a different story. The language of protection and inclusion has been emptied of substance. What remains is a ritual performance invoking “Vishwa guru” (Teacher of the World) and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (The World is One Family), even as a narrow, exclusionary project targets minorities deepens.