Ideological divide

For as many decades till 2014 India has believed in secularism or a nation which does not recognise the hegemony of any religion but treated all equally in consonance with Article 25 of the constitution that guarantees freedom of conscience and right to profess, practice and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health. India is home to more than nine-in-ten of the world’s Hindus, and also having one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, as well as millions of Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Christians. Indians tend to see this religious diversity as benefiting their country. Roughly half say diversity benefits India (53%), while about one-quarter say diversity harms the country (24%). Generally, Indians of different ages, educational backgrounds and regions of residence tend to agree that diversity benefits the country. However, a sizable minority (24%) does not take a clear position on the question, saying that diversity “neither benefits nor harms the country,” that they don’t know, or declining to answer the question. However, with the advent of Hindutva ideology that propagates “Hindu-ness”, India under BJP is experiencing a move to unveil a modern political ideology that advocates for Hindu supremacy and seeks to transform India, constitutionally a secular state, into an ethno-religious nation known as the Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nationalism). Hindutva ideology is promoted by an array of vigilante, political, and cultural groups, known collectively as the Sangh Parivar. The RSS, a paramilitary organization based in India, is at the center of the Sangh and sets the priorities and tactics for promoting Hindutva ideology.Ramachandra Guha, best known for his sweeping biographies of Mahatma Gandhi, described Hindutva and Hindu nationalism as an idea which takes its inspiration from 18th and 19th-century European nations which sought to create national power through identifying a common enemy and by promoting the idea of one language, one culture and one leader. In Manipur a state where communal harmony has more or less been maintained, the recent spate of communal violence has inflicted dangerous divide between the majority meiteis and tribals in the state. After the BJP came to power in 2017, it sought to create a Hindu nationalist identity for the Meitei community. This encouragement to see themselves as part of the Hindu fold has come even as nearly 10 percent of the community practice an indigenous religion known as Sanamahism .Under a BJP government, RSS and other organs have sought to sought to promote Hindu nationalism as the dominant ideology and used the Meitei community to advance their political agenda in the state. Tribal leaders in Manipur believe that the recent violence was religiously motivated. They say that the influence of the Hindutvawadis has led to explosion of anger directed at Christians and burning down of churches especially those churches that exclusively belong to Meitei Christians. The Manipur high court order on the state to recommend according tribal status for Meiteis was only a pretext for mobs to target their own community (Meiteis) who became Christians. The trigger that has set Manipur aflame is most unfortunate as it has created a sectarian divide.