India’s government is ignoring, and sometimes even encouraging, hatred of minorities
Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is determined to preserve its power
PULSES RACED as 12th-graders answered maths problems at St Joseph’s School in Ganj Basoda, a provincial town in the state of Madhya Pradesh, on December 6th. They faced a tough trial: national board exams that decide who gets into India’s best universities. But it was not the scratching of nibs or rustling of answer-sheets that heightened the tension. Midway through the test a crowd could be heard gathering outside, clanging at the gates with wooden clubs. “Who will protect the faith?” they chanted. “We will! We will!” Rocks crashed into the glass-fronted school building, spraying jagged shards across classrooms. Then the mob surged in.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Playing with fire”
From the January 15th 2022 edition
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