1 city, 2 people — and India’s widening religious divide
Syed Mohammad Munir Abidi is convinced India is no longer the same country it once was for its minority Muslim citizens
By SHEIKH SAALIQ
Published - Apr 19, 2023, 07:50 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 22, 2023, 06:04 AM EDT
AYODHYA, India (AP) — Syed Mohammad Munir Abidi says India is a changed country, one he doesn’t recognize anymore.
It’s a country, the 68-year-old says, where Muslims are ignored, where rising attacks against them are encouraged, and where an emboldened Hindu majoritarian government is seizing its chance to put the minority community in its place.
Swami Ram Das thinks otherwise, echoing a belief system central to Hindu nationalism.
The 48-year-old Hindu priest says India is on a quest to redeem its religious past and that the country is fundamentally a Hindu nation where minorities, especially Muslims, must subscribe to Hindu primacy.
