These findings, if true, suggest that radical secularism or ‘woke’ politics is unlikely to work politically in India and mainstream politics will continue to pander to conservative values around both caste and religion. The survey, Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation, is based on 30,000 interviews conducted between November 2019 and March 2020. The intersection of religion and politics has always been a contested terrain in India. “Disrespecting India” is also a big trigger for being considered an outcaste, both among Hindus and Muslims. That preference for an authoritarian leader is almost the same among many Indian religions, including Hindus and Muslims, must be encouraging such tendencies.

Source: Hindustan Times June 29, 2021 14:48 UTC