India’s secular ethos is being eroded by the politicization of religion ahead of a general election due in May next year.
Opposition parties during the latest session of parliament accused the federal government led by the pro-Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to manipulate religious sensitivities. The Congress Party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is copying divide-and-rule tactics used by British colonial rulers to foment antagonism between Hindus and Muslims. This included BJP leaders branding Congress as a “Muslim party.”
