Sixty-three years after independence, the issue of national identity is still not settled in India. After the trauma of Partition, religious conflagrations such as the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992, and the Gujarat riots of 2002 have left deep scars on the psyche of the nation. They have led to a fundamental debate over what kind of a nation India should be. Must it uphold a particular culture? Or must it celebrate diversity?
In his newly-released book, The Intolerant Indian: Why We Must Rediscover a Liberal Space, Gautam Adhikari tackles the issue of national identity head-on and demonstrates how extremist religious ideologies have overshadowed the idea of a liberal, tolerant society that India's founding fathers had envisioned. This timely, thought-provoking book is a plea to build and sustain a truly liberal society. The questions it poses have an important bearing on the future of India.
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