Communal Propaganda and Vigilante Violence is Fracturing the Idea of India

Harsh Mander, director of Center of Equity Studies, speaks to Abhilasha of the Indian Cultural Forum about his recent book Partitions of the Heart: Unmaking the Idea of India. He talks about the erosion of the fundamental idea of India which a direct consequence of a leadership that thrives on polarising the nation, bigotry and hatred. In the interview, he expresses his concerns about the environment of communal hatred that is brewing in the country and delineates the nature of toxic communal attack and the rising scourge of lynching. As a former civil servant, he offers an alternative measure in the form of legal intervention of successfully shifting the onus on to government officials and making them accountable for failing to do their duty or malafide action during instances of hate violence.