Between the ‘civic’ nationalist notion of Indian diversity (which Salman Rushdie celebrated as ‘mongrelization’)240 and the Hindutvavadi’s insistence on ‘authentic’ Indian culture—narrowly interpreted, and uncontaminated by colonial influence or Ganga–Jamuni hybridity—there lies a chasm. Our nationalist heroes created a nation built on an ideal of pluralism and freedom: we have given passports to their dreams. The BJP, with its insistence on the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, would sadly reduce the soaring generosity of their founding vision to the petty bigotry of majoritarian chauvinism.
